Following to the Future
by XToxicX
Summary: Tragedy is almost a part of every day life. It can stalk anyone, and lurk until the worst moment. There's no way of avoiding it... But is there a way of surviving it? [Self-insert fic.]
1. Chapter 1

The world is your oyster... It's vast and wide. It's chock-full of ambition, hope and just the small sense of morality we all need. Dream it, attempt it, and become it. It's surprising how such efforts can lead to the fruits of life, success and ultimately happiness, although some may live without the latter due to their focused personality.

But just as some have that very drive, that may push them to the ends of the Earth... Some have no motivation. Some struggle with the reins of living, the responsibility of a good occupation, and more importantly, understanding the very reason they are alive. That concept in itself is one that horrifies most-especially those who value life as something sacred. To have that will lost... is the most tragic thing to happen to a person.

Some people are just in between. Some people have the desire to succeed, dreaming, having a purpose... But that isn't the bad part. The bad part is being hindered by the external pressures of the world. You try and try everyday, but you sit there wondering, 'Will I ever get there?' You don't complain about life, at least not too much, but very much wish it could be better, so that you can clear your head; make your ambition full-circle. You could look at things so positively... But despite all, nudges at an emotional mindset can be catastrophic, as minor as they may be. That by no means is an indication to wreak anxieties on everyone around you...

I'm... probably one of those people...

Um... Hi. I'm a person. A regular person. I... Um... Ugh, suddenly I go from all philosophical to socially awkward. Sigh...

My name is Toxic... It's an alias, not my real name, but... It still has a bit of meaning to me; quite a bit...

But there's a reason that such a silly name means that much. It's my gateway to another place, a very special place.

It's a place with friends I've known for several years. Whenever I feel alone... Some way or another, they perk me up. I do have friends in real life, of course... I value them very much. But due to long distances, I barely see them outside of school... And I never want to pester them when I do want someone to talk to... They could be doing real important things, you know? More important than crummy conversation from me... Haha... (Or I might be just antisocial...)

But the place I go to... It's of mutual agreement. Pestering isn't so much a worry; if you go there, you want to converse... Of course, there's still a chance you might be annoying, and that's something I worry about all the time...

This morning, after another night of burning oil, drawing and speaking to my friends, I'd readied myself for school. Snow leopard print scarf (that's extremely fluffy!), lanyard, blue blouse, navy jeggings, and deep cobalt trainers were my usual outfit, after they were washed, that is. On a weekly occasion, I'd wear these hair bands in pigtails I'd gotten off the internet... Specifically, they're from a murder mystery franchise with an adorable teddy bear... which gives people incentive to murder people.

Ah... Um... I remember in old eras, people watched tragedy to feel better about themselves. I'm... not really sure I'm that unhappy with my life, but I love tragic stories. They're usually so intense and serious, and even better if there's pairings involved... I love tragedy. One second, you're stuck to your seat because your beloved hero is in peril, and the next, you're mentally cheering for him to overcome despair, overcome fate and impending doom. Some stories, though, I know, don't always end happily...

It's debatable whether this will...

The moment I opened the front door of my home, my solitude, was the moment that the very logic I'd lived with every day was fried.

Tragedy, in my opinion, is the most harsh of mistresses. A single omen could send you spiralling down into the pits of distress and suffering. It's frightening, even, when that omen is so tiny, that you never even notice it. And then, you never see the tragedy swooping in.

You are prey to its predator. Sometimes, there's no stopping it, either. Fate makes sure your past catches up with you, nearly always.

I always found it so fascinating... but when you're on the wrong end of the stick, it's both that and... something straight out of a nightmare. You wish it didn't exist. You wish life didn't have something so horrible in store for you. And the worst thing of all... It gave no hints. For that very reason... the whole world seemingly suffered for it. None of us could have been prepared...

The street was in ruins. My house was lone; its terraced neighbours were no more. The world around it was charred, empty. And around me, smoke... white smoke, surrounded the world in obscurity. Faintly, I made out shapes of fragmented walls across the street. The tree children often played football around was ripped from its roots...

I stepped out into the fog, running to my now-beaten gate, and pulling it open frantically. I looked around, my eyes wide with terror and denial.

"What... What happened?!" I yelped, my voice almost a squeak. "...Everything..."

I always loved the apocalyptic era. There's always something to do with it. There was something always enticing about it. It was always the most tense of situations and fun to play out in and watch. What stuck out the most was the way people shone, long after the world had ended...

"...Everything's gone...? I can't see anything... Just wrecks... Did... we have a war?"

I mumbled many possibilities to myself, some that seemed too illogical to be true...

I was too disorientated to think straight. Most of the theories I came up with were... those not of this world, and it was at that point that I denied them. Such things were unrealistic. I knew the difference between fiction and reality, and yet... I still thought the unthinkable. There was just the uncanny chance of something happening to someone not very unique...

The issue was... my house was standing... Why was that? I didn't understand.

Still lugging my bag along, I stepped deeper into the fog, squinting as I walked across the road, to the tree.

"...Hello...?" I called softly, my voice shaking. I swallowed, then turned to look back at my house. I frowned, expression contorting into that of anxiety and panic-I ditched my bags, and legged it back to my home.

I hadn't heard my Mother this morning. I called to wake her up before I left, but she hadn't answered... I'd dismissed it since I was in a rush to get to my bus...

I rushed up the stairs, my steps heavy and swift.

"Mum?!"

I threw open the door, and in there, I found something that twisted my stomach. Mum was gone. She simply wasn't there... I ran to my little sister's room, and peered into her domain of pink and purple. There was a lump under the bed, and my heart throbbed slightly as I snuck towards it. I lifted the duvet, with the small hope that my sibling was here...

It was a teddy bear.

My heart felt like a crumpled up piece of paper. I seized up, and swallowed, looking down. I leaned against the wall, and slid down...

"They're... gone..."

There's so much sadness in everything ending. Everything has its end. What I admired was the very will to live on...

...of which I didn't have...

"...wha-what should I do? I don't know what to do... I don't know... School... Maybe I should go to school... Maybe it'll be fine over there... But I can't get there... It's an hour on the bus... Maybe I could walk it... Or maybe I could go to my older sister's... Maybe..."

My sentences consisted of that very uncertainty. It was consecutive and consistent. I stepped out to the road, and picked up my bag.

"..."

Silence. The only sounds were my footsteps and breathing.

"I have to find someone... Someone... Anyone... I can't be the only one left... It's unfair! Not on me, but the world... There's so much better people-I-"

"Watch out!"

There was a sudden explosion behind me.

"EEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeEEEEKKKKKKKK...!" I screamed as something suddenly picked me up; something was holding me, and I was too busy panicking to look what. I flailed, trying to get out of this grip on instinct. "GetoffGETOFFGETOFFFFFF!"

"Hey, calm down! Not trying to kidnap you or anything!"

"THAT'SEXACTLYWHAT-"

It was then I realised. A voice.

Someone else.

Someone was around.

They were here.

I wasn't alone.

Suddenly, I felt so happy and relieved-my flailing came to a halt, and I hugged the person tightly.

"Thank you for existing!"

The person was seriously confused.

"You're welcome...?"

The person was also... quite sharp...?

"OW!"

I yanked myself away, and looked at the source in shock.

"...yeah, I'm kinda sharp."

I cringed in pain, and then my gaze moved to the speaker in confusion. Why would a hug hurt so much, I asked myself.

It's funny how easily one can question themselves. Their sanity, their perception, just about everything. One's dream could come true, but for the life in them, they could never truly believe it.

It was a blue hedgehog. A blue, talking hedgehog. A blue, talking, speedy hedgehog.

"...SONIC?!"

"That's my name!" The hedgehog grinned.

"..."

I stared for a minute.

It took so long for those words... that appearance... and that understanding... just... to sink in...

And finally, I had decided to react. I lifted my bag (its nickname 'the kitchen sink'), about to swing it over my head, but he stopped me.

"Hey, what're you doing?! You'll hurt yourself!"

"I MUST END THIS HALLUCINATION! THIS NIGHTMARE SLASH DREAM!"

"This is real! Snap out of it!"

"You're a figment of my imagination and hardcore fangirling-HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY KNOW?!"

"...Hrm. Well, hardly anything's a blur, you're talking coherently, and you're not floating or anything..." Sonic rubbed his muzzle.

"Besides the point! This isn't Fanfiception! You're a talking blue hedgehog; you shouldn't be in this world!" I folded my arms.

"You just THANKED me for existing."

"I meant... uhhh... Um... ... I'm sorry... I'm just not built for conversation right now..."

Sonic sweat dropped. "It's fine... You've got reason to..."

"Ahem."

"Yeah, yeah, Eggman, I know-"

"OH MY GOD. DID EGGMAN NUKE MY HOM-...wait, Eggman?" I blinked, then looked up. "...WHAT THE-?!"

My eyes widened at a massive mech behind Sonic. It was tall, round, and supposedly powerful. An obese scientist was sat at the top. Sonic seemed pretty relaxed, though I kinda expected that...

"Oh, yeah, I was fighting Eggman," Sonic remembered, smirking slightly. He turned his head slightly, giving Eggman a cocky smile.

"That hurts, Sonic," Eggman growled, but then raised his fist, slamming it down onto a button, "but not more than this! HAMMER ARM!"

The hammer in the robots right arm came slamming down to the ground.

"Whoops, hold on!" The blue blur dashed forward, narrowly avoiding being flattened.

I just stared, more confused than I've ever been...

I had to admit, I was speechless... I didn't know what to say... Fictional characters showing up on my doorstep, Sonic no less...

But... I guess I was happy. I met my idol... Well, even if he was the fastest thing alive; I could never dream of meeting that goal... But what he stood for... I admired that too...

I wasn't alone, too. So... maybe it wasn't all despair.

That's what I thought. Ever heard of omens?

What else could be out there?

* * *

 **New fic! :3 New peeps will appear next chappie hopefully, when things are sorted. :3**


	2. Chapter 2

The world ended. I realised that long ago.

But, just as I've always thought, people still fought on. They didn't halt in their tracks. They continued, on and on, trying to fix this broken world. It doesn't surprise me even now. The world's inhabitants are, sometimes, reckless and unique in their decisions, but they have the strongest will around, even so.

It seemed bleak for me. Imagine your family vanishing from sight and sound. It's heartbreaking, it's... despair-inducing, God forbid. I couldn't register anything when it happened. My mind was in a rush, unable to slow down. It had been, even after my meeting with Sonic the Hedgehog, completely drained of motivation and reason...

My optimism, however, was another story in itself... It was the glue needed to keep me together, the glue needed to make me push on. I'd met someone in this empty world, and another. So perhaps, the others lived... I contemplated the scenario of evacuation-even if it excluded the logic of me being left behind, and the idea comforted me, just a little.

So I kept believing in it.

I was sat near a tree... At least, that was the only thing I could use to specify my location. Everything else was just... so unrecognisable. I just didn't remember the layout... So I came to the conclusion that I'd never been there before... But I kept being nagged by the constant question in my head: 'Where am I?'

I hated getting lost... Or being in such a unfamiliar place... Thankfully, I could adjust easily to a layout, memorise it easily, if I could... But the nerves apart of that memorisation still lingered.

That blue hedgehog... He said he'd come back... after he dealt with Eggman...

It was a typical Sonic situation... I understood that perfectly well. I wrote stories, countless stories, and plotted them each and every day. It was... in a way, my obsession. Everyone had them... A majority, anyway... Or something they really like.

Sometimes, I wondered if I liked it too much. If this obsession was unhealthy... But it was my passion. Something only a fan of something would probably understand...

And there was my passion, right there. The downside (being the end of the world) just didn't allow me the joy of seeing one of my favourite fictional heroes... My family were gone, the neighbours had vanished, and the world had been obliterated... How could I feel happy?

I sat there, contemplating the mystery of my missing mother and sister... I never felt I was depressed; I never thought I was sad enough to be that... I had good grades, good friends... even if I had responsibilities left and right... I always tried to be optimistic, even if that was the hardest thing on the planet to do sometimes...

I looked up suddenly. I heard something... a strange sound... one I'd never heard before. At least, realistically. Turning my head slowly, my gaze drifted to a nearby clearing with torn wired fences. At that, my whole frame froze; something had chewed through that fence quite easily... and it looked recent...

I stood up slowly, my hands cautiously leaning against the trunk of the tree, my breath hitched and my expression beyond tense. I thought I imagined it... but of course, that was not the case... Swallowing, I glanced at a nearby wrecked building, then around my radius. Where was Sonic when you needed him...?

"...!"

Something snapped at me; I say something because I had no idea what it was. I recoiled immediately, scrambling back and looking at the source in horror. Definition of nightmare fuel...

It was white and small... and it had teeth the size and sharpness of razors.

"What the-?!"

I yelped immediately, pulling myself to my feet and turning heel as it leapt again, dodging to the side. It bit at the ground, and my panic increased when this chewing session stopped. It was at that point that my legs decided to listen to me, and finally fulfill their function.

My feet hit the ground consecutively as I turned heel and ran, breaths sharp and anxious.

I needed something... A weapon, anything...

...!

I noticed a plank of wood to my left, up ahead, next to a building, and at that, I put more power into my sprint. However... due to focus on intellectual activity and not physical, I was progressively slowing down, the cold air of the world circulating my system. My insides hurt, but I didn't let it stop me. I leapt for the board, and picked it up. At that exact moment, I swung it behind me, and it hit the creature just as it was metres away from my head.

It flew like a baseball, hitting the ground a few feet away. I stared at it, and then backed away slowly, knowing going near it was a bad idea. And I was right to.

Immediately, it shot up again, heading in my direction.

"...crap. Welp, time for plan B."

I turned and ran.

"HELLLLPPPPPPPP!"

Whoosh!

"...what're you screaming about?"

"...eh?"

I stopped and blinked, turning my head.

The creature was nowhere to be seen... All that remained were specks of glowing lights. I looked near it, and there was a figure, walking up to me. It was a girl, with dark brown hair and hazel eyes. She was wearing this... weird outfit.

"...are you a cosplayer?" I asked, looking confused at her get-up.

It was something Japanese-esque... Long sleeves, a petal-like dress, and long boots... And overall, had a deep red theme... and one of roses...

Hated to overanalyze, but both of those were usually omens in literature... Maybe I was over thinking it...

There was a whip in her hand, too... was that her weapon out here, against everything big and nasty?

The girl glared at me. "...no."

"Then why-?"

"I'ma' Hero!"

I blinked. "...Hero?" I paused. Perhaps questioning weird things was a bad idea since I met a talking blue hedgehog a while ago... But this was very confusing.

The girl sighed. "I help with the Vertex..."

"...Vertex?" More words I didn't understand. "I'm sorry... I just... found out about what's happened... and I don't even know what those are... It sounds like Maths... IS IT MATHS?! YOU CAN'T SUBJECT ME TO-!"

"It's not Maths... As for your statement... Cos they only seem to be about specific places." She rubbed the back of her head. "See, there's meant to be a reality that mirrors this one, Shinju-outside a boundary where they are, but... Often they try to invade that boundary and if they get in, then... They try to destroy this world, which is why Heroes like me stop them!" She grinned proudly.

"...okay." I nodded slowly. "...no, not okay. What?!"

"It's a bit too much to take in, I know. But it's not that hard." The girl seemed cocky at that statement...

"I think it is!" I snapped in response, pouting and folding my arms. "Ish very confusing!"

"...ish?"

"It is... Shhh, I speak like this to the interweb friends, no judgie."

"The lack of Wi-Fi is hella' annoying because of that..."

"Tell me about it. Wi-Fi is love, Wi-Fi is life! It is why we must fight for the world! WE SHALL BE POM AND SHIBE ON OUR HUNT FOR WI-FI! ...uhh... if you want to, that is..."

"..."

The girl cocked her head slightly, a questionable look in her eyes. She chuckled slightly.

"You have a... unique personality..."

"...err... Not sure what to say to that... Just a bit..." I looked down sheepishly. "Melodramatic, I guess..."

"Really, you seem so quiet at first..."

"I'm antisocial."

"Welcome to the club." The girl grinned.

"...unless I'm with people I..." I trailed off. "... Hey, we haven't introduced ourselves yet and we're knee-deep in conversation! Can't have that!"

"Oh, yeah..."

"Name's Toxic! T-O-X-I-C!" I held out my hand to shake. "Nice to meet you... I hope anyways. For all I know, you could be a psychopathic murderer or..."

I blinked. She was staring at me, with a lost expression.

"...ermmm, I didn't mean it... T'was a joke..."

"That's not your real name, is it?" the girl asked, looking sceptical.

"Ah... That... No... No, it's not..." I cleared my throat. "'Toxic' is my pen name..."

"Pen name?"

"It's for a forum... er... fan... fiction website..." I trailed off bashfully.

"No need to look so nervous. I get it." The girl smiled. "I actually write a bit too, so..."

"You do?! Er, anyway, my real name is off limits; only le awesome G probs knows it... or other peeps, I dunno. Just keeping Mondo undercover. Inter webs and all."

"But this is reality-"

"Shhhh!"

The girl stared at me blankly, then thought for a moment. She seemed to be recalling something I had said, possibly...

"Okay then. If we're going by pen names... My name's Darky!" The girl shook my hand, that was probably definitely dead by now.

"Darky?" I asked in confusion.

"Yep! Short for Girl of Darkness10!" The girl responded chipperly.

"WhhhhaaaaAAAAATTTT?!" I yelped, jumping back in shock. I almost fell over, actually. What?

"Hey, Toxikku." Darky smirked, folding her arms.

"Wha-how-what-YOU'RE MEANT TO BE IN ARIZONA AND WHAT-" I babbled jibberish. "Why didn't you say?! KEEPING ME IN IN THE DARK LIKE THAT, OF COURSE, YOU'RE DARKY. EVIL PEEP."

"I only just figured it out, okay?" She asked, huffing. "Your first red flag was your personality, then your name, Toxic, then G made it really suspicious. After that, it was obvious, especially given your reaction. Of course, you're Toxic. Dramatic person."

I pouted. "Really..." I looked down, blue lines going down my face. "...it's so obvious?"

"Pretty much. Don't get uber depressed, though, Toxikku. Nothing to worry about, though, right?"

"Ah, no... Ish fine!" I grinned sheepishly. My face softened. "But... the end of the world isn't..."

Darky frowned. "Yeah. Sucks we met in this situation... Typical of life."

"You're helping out, then?"

"Yep! The Vertex are somehow getting into the real world physically..." Darky looked thoughtful. "I wonder how..."

"I'm more concerned about being eaten..." I grumbled. "Oh... Thanks for that, by the way, Darky."

"What?"

"I cried for help, and you came to my rescue."

"I thought it was a cat..." Darky blinked.

"...eh...?!"

I faceplanted.

"Darkeh..."

"Kidding!" Darky chuckled. "Nah, you're welcome, Toxic."

"...I wonder if my assumption of people being psychopathic murderers is valid now..." I muttered to myself. "...or for other people, anyways..."

"What was that?" Darky asked, squinting.

"Nothing! Never mind! Absolutely nothing!" I sweatdropped, picking myself up. "...? What's that behind you?"

"Huh?"

Darky looked down at her leg. It was a small animal; it looked like a rouge deer with big brown eyes and ribbons around its ears.

"Oh, this little girl? She's my friend. She protects me and stuff. It's epic." Darky looked proud.

"It's so kawaiiiiii-"

"No, Toxic."

Darky stopped me before I could glomp it. I flailed my arms for it, wailing,

"I WANT THE FLUFFEH! LET ME HAVE THE-...ooh, fine..." I sighed.

Darky chuckled. "You could probably convince everyone it wasn't the end of the world like that..."

"Not really..." I looked down modestly. "Besides, people would probably assume I'm bipolar or something weird like that if society found out..."

I looked elsewhere.

"I act stupid sometimes... just to cheer people up... I don't think others would get that... It's the end of the world, anyway. It's not the-"

"If you think about it, it's the best time. Think of this like... Danganronpa."

"What about it?"

"Gotta' have Hope, don't you?" Darky asked, tilting her head.

"And end up like Komaeda..." I grumbled. "No offence to the epic character..."

"But if you go to the emo corner-stay out of it by the way, it's mine-then nothing gets done."

"But-I will go in your emo corner if I want to, Darky-angsssttt!"

"Don't matter about angst-no, you won't-you have to survive!"

"If you say so...-okay, fine, please don't hurt me-But... I can't really do anything useful about it... I'm as useless as Chris Thorndyke..."

Darky glared at me.

"...ehehe... I mean... Not that Chris is useless or anything... Season 3, you know... he... ah..."

"Hey, guys!"

Sonic skidded to a stop.

"Sent Eggman on a wild goose chase in some cave, and-who're you?"

"Darky."

"Okay, nice to meet you, but I kinda somehow peeved off a bunch of weird creatures running past them and now they're heading this way..."

I gave a deadpan expression. "Trying to be optimistic is REALLY hard sometimes."

"Toxikku, you head to that building over there. I can take these guys. Probably Vertex. Sonic can help too. If he wants."

"You kidding? Why wouldn't I wanna'?" Sonic grinned.

"BUT THAT BUILDING IS OBVIOUSLY CREEPY, DARKY! AND ITS MASCOTS ARE CREEPY AS-"

"-hell, I know. But you need to be safe!"

"But going alone is the number one thing NOT to do in horror films!"

"Why don't you ask Sonic if he can go with you?"

The hedgehog glanced at me, then gave a friendly smile.

"Won't mind, ya' know."

"...errr, no! Ish... You know... Ish fine! I'ma' go!"

'THIS MUST BE FAR AWAY FROM A SHIPPING FIC! D:'

I quickly walked to the building, that had animal mascots on the front...

Sonic blinked. "Was it something I said?"


	3. Chapter 3

"I SWEAR, IF I WASN'T SO POWERLESS, I WOULD KILL YOU, FOX!"

"You're acting like it's my fault! I just work here!"

"YOU DON'T HAVE THE T-SHIRT SO IT'S NOT A VALID EXCUSE!"

"I have a hat!"

"Doesn't count, Foxeh!"

There was banging on the door.

"GO AWAY, FOXY!"

"Hey!"

"Not you!"

You're probably wondering how I got in this situation. Watching a window vigorously and spamming a button, and coupled with a guy I'd known for two or more years but never physically met.

Well, I can tell you.

It all began when I made my way to the extremely unnerving building at the other side of the road. Its sign was the definition of terrifying, vulgar, and most despicable of all, demonic...

Animals had never looked so terrifying in cartoon form.

Well, perhaps I over exaggerated... They were bright and cheerful pictures... and... I didn't trust them.

Especially the sign below, that would become relevant soon enough.

I glanced over my shoulder, frowning slightly. My gaze focused on a scene far away. Darky and Sonic were fighting Vertex... or whatever those things were... They looked so... inhuman... I didn't know how to describe them. I inwardly hoped everything would be alright... but in the back of my mind, I didn't doubt any of them...

I stopped in front of the door, and then knocked gently.

"Knowing creepy horror movies, the door opens on its own..."

I stood there expectantly.

For five minutes.

I then came to the conclusion this door wasn't going to pull that cliche, and sighed under my breath.

"...well, I guess this time's different..."

I looked around, biting my lip. It was then that I realised... This building was still standing too!

Why...? This building didn't even deserve to stay standing...

My home didn't either...

"There must be something significant about these buildings..." I frowned. "But what...?"

I looked at the cracked concrete in the ground.

"I have to figure this out... which means I have to go in, and..." My face paled. "God, I hated this virtually... But I won't be scared! ... Unless there's Deathclaws. Then I would be seriously scared."

I chuckled nervously.

"Anyways, I'ma' stop talking... Need plot progression..."

I looked around, then noticed something.

There was a vent; its lid had been ripped off.

"I could get in that way..."

I looked down at my scarf, and then tucked it into into my shirt, along with my lanyard; it wouldn't make noise and obstruct me then...

Though my trainers...

They made squeaky noises whenever I slid them against something. That may have been an issue, but I wasn't going to head into a dilapidated building without shoes...

I looked at the vent, then furrowed my brow determinedly.

"I may never come back... I may ultimately be eviscerated unpleasantly-how does one even go that way pleasantly? Eh... But I have to try..."

I clambered into the vent, and immediately regretted it as it made a massive 'THUNK-THUNK-THUNK!'

"Crap...!" I cursed, jumping at the very noise I was making. I fell down on my stomach. "...ughhh... Stupid mentality... Solaris, have mercy on my soul... even if Mephiles is apart of you..."

Shuffling to pull myself into a crawl, and just barely, I dragged myself through the metal tunnel, as quietly as I could.

I just needed to find a way into the office...

There seemed to be a lot of exits, though...

But the very layout didn't look like the exits for THAT kind of thing... So maybe I was okay...

I didn't want to cross paths with another 'trader' in this wasteland...

After crawling for a full ten minutes, almost close to sneezing from the dust bunnies, I came across an exit that overlooked a square room. I squinted at it, then bit my lip.

Wrong room. I'd be jumping out of the pan and into the fire...

I moved to crawl over it, carefully, but a noise, a single, long noise, went out of it's unselfish way to troll me.

"AHHHHHhhhhhHHHHHH...!"

I yelped, then covered my mouth with one hand, gripping a vent slab's edge with the other.

I heard a massive 'THUNK'... which meant, the lid was on the floor, and my legs? Dangling out of the opening.

I was dangling. I was dangling over a room. I was dangling over the stage. A room where THEY would be active.

"No, no, no...!" I whimpered quietly, cursing physics with passion.

'I don't want to experience this first hand!'

"...!"

Something...

Something...

There...

There was something...

Gripping my leg...

"...! NO!"

"Hey, uh..."

"GO AWAY! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"

"..."

"LACK OF SILENCE, SURE, YOU MONSTER! I'M READY FOR THE FREDDY! NOT REALLY! WHO IS IT? FREDDY? CHICA? BONNIE? I SWEAR IT'S BONNIE, IT'S ALWAYS BONNIE! CAN'T-!"

"Calm down, miss. Now get the hell down."

This... voice. It wasn't distorted... It was human...

It wasn't one I recognised either...

I looked down, and my eyes squinted at the speaker. I felt relieved, suddenly, about the fact I wasn't alone...

...that relief was destroyed in an instant.

The hairs on my skin stuck on end, all colour drained from my face, and my eyes were pin-pricks.

For the man stood before me... wasn't someone kind. He wasn't someone who looked out for youngsters like me, and heck... those younger...

His uniform was purple... and that's all I needed.

I carefully climbed down, with his aid... I watched his every move. I scanned his hands, subtly, for blood, for weapons...

Something he noticed.

"...what's with the scouting?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. "But what's more important is... what're you doing in here?"

His voice... it was full of malice. It was full of irritation...

Had I walked in on the murders?!

Maybe he hadn't done it yet...

"Hey. Answer me."

"...eh?"

"What. Are. You. Doing. In. Here?" he asked, slowly, seeming annoyed.

"I... Uh... I was looking for shelter...!"

"Shelter?" he repeated, sounding incredulous.

"Y-yeah, the world ended, and-"

"What are you talking about?" he asked, growing even more ominous.

Didn't... Didn't he know?

"Hmph. Regardless... You should've stayed out there."

"...! No, no, I haven't seen anything, please!"

At that, the man's eyes widened. Then they narrowed, as if deciphering my words.

I back stepped, swallowing and and staring at him cautiously as he followed.

"'You haven't seen anything'?" he repeated, gaze solely on me now.

See, guys, this is why you shouldn't be Meta on these types of things. Might open a lot of doors, but in the end, it gets you stuck with a psychopath.

Also, called it!

"That's why you were looking at my hands...

...

Heh..."

He scowled.

"Sorry, brat. I was just warning you about the attractions and about to escort you out, but since you know about THAT..." he pulled out a blade... "...the plan's changed."

"...no..." I whimpered, tears in my eyes. I scowled defiantly, trying my hardest not to break down. "I'm not dying here!"

I turned heel, and legged it through the room.

"Fair enough. You can die in another room. Your choice."

That sent chills down my spine.

"YOU'RE A HORRIBLE PERSON! WHY WOULD YOU DO THINGS LIKE THIS?!" I sobbed, almost tripping over something. "MURDEROUS PURPLE... PIMP!"

I caught myself and then looked left and right.

The room I was in suddenly distorted, and I blinked; I wasn't surrounded by tables anymore... but a long corridor...

I wasn't sure what happened, but...

Office was down at the bottom, but I needed an exit! I didn't remember any exit!

Office would have to do! I could lock myself in...

I skidded to a stop in front of the frame, but it wasn't a frame! It was a door.

Someone must have been inside...

"LET ME IN! FOR THE LOVE OF CHOCOLATE, AND GOD, PLEASE LET ME IN!" I screamed, my voice hoarse.

The purple person was following me. Slowly...

The suspense was not doing good for my nerves.

"PLEASE! P-PLEEEASSSEE!"

* * *

Regular day at work. That's what he saw it as. No murderous psychotic machines, just work... Another day at the office. He hadn't worked here long, but he'd gotten the ropes.

A man of 6'6 was sat in his chair, eyeing the security system with brown eyes, clad in a dark uniform. His shift began soon. In a few minutes, actually. He'd have to be ready for it...

Just work? That was a lie.

Especially when your life was on the line. This was a dangerous job...

The man tilted his hat up, then sighed, sipping his cup of caffeine.

He'd survived this long, though... He'd live tonight.

That statement was certain enough to him. He HAD to live.

He glanced at the clock, and sighed. Five more minutes, and this Hell began...

He decided to look over the security cameras to get his bearings before it all began.

Freddy's screen was the first thing he saw.

"...Not getting in here tonight, bear..." He looker at the other animatronics on-screen. "Or you guys either..."

He checked on Pirate Cove, then squinted.

"...Foxy..."

He said nothing else, then checked the corridor.

"...?"

"..FOR THE LOVE OF CAKE, WHICH ISN'T A LIE, FOR THE LOVE OF REVISER SEEDS, THAT AREN'T TROLLS, FOR THE LOVE OF..."

There... was a person. They were banging on his door. But... The door was open. And no one was there...

"...What the Hell is..."

He looked further up the corridor on the cameras.

"...going on?!"

There was a man, clad in purple, wielding a knife, heading towards the person...

What was this?! Was this edited?! The man didn't understand. This never happened before!

He wasn't... going to watch someone get murdered, was he?

"..."

He stood up, then pressed the button, closing the door. His eyes widened suddenly at hearing noise, and not from the monitor, but the other side of the door...

His facial expression grew urgent, and he opened the door...

...getting punched in the face by a young girl as she fell face-first into the room from the pressure she had on the door.

"EVIL. PERSON. LET. ME. IN."

The man looked down at her, rubbing his cheek and watching as she regained herself, got off him, and immediately darted to shut the door. It closed.

"NOT KILLING ME TONIGHT, KID KILLER!" she yelled, shaking her fist.

"... Uhh..."

"YOU TOO!"

The girl suddenly started pushing the man out of the other door, but he stopped her.

"What're you doing?!"

"I'M BANISHING YOU AND YOUR MURDER URGES, PURPLE GUY! SEE A PSYCHIATRIST! PLEASE! THANK YOU! HANDS OFF!"

"Purple guy? Listen, I'm not even wearing-"

"SHHHUUSH, YOU CAN'T ESCAPE YOUR SCRIPT!"

"I JUST STOPPED YOU FROM GETTING MURDERED!" the man yelled.

"...? Eh...?"

The girl stopped freaking out and looked at him blankly.

"Finally..."

"...you're not Purple Guy," she observed with a nod.

"Not that I know." The man looked irritated and confused.

"...nice hat."

"...Thanks?"

"I was being sarcastic."

The girl grinned brightly.

"... ... Uh... Not sure-"

"You're MEANT to say 'Well, I stole your face!'"

"But I haven't..."

"Ugh, uneducated on asdf? Really is the end of the world. I like trains..."

"...what?"

"I'll stop now. Who're you?"

"...someone who clearly isn't purple."

"I'm someone who clearly isn't a spy," the girl chirped happily. "...no, seriously."

"Better question is, what are you doing in here?"

"Purple Guy asked me that. Are you sure you're not Purple Guy?" the girl squinted. "Suspicious..."

"I am NOT Purple Guy." The man huffed.

"Good. Because he bad. You good. Well, I don't know that. But still."

"..."

"..."

There was a silence.

"I'm Toxic!" the girl broke it, holding out her hand.

"...Toxic?"

The man looked thoughtful...

"Yep! Thanks for saving me!"

The man looked around.

"...what?"

"Didn't you have a cat with you?"

"..." Toxic faceplanted. "What's with the CATS?! First Darky, now..."

"Darky?" The man questioned. "..."

"...eh? Dunno whether I should be preparing myself for another shock..."

"You don't visit a forum called 'Crossing Continuites', do you...?"

Toxic was stuck in a gasping\shocked pose.

"...Toxic?"

"...you're Fox."

"...so I was right."

"And?"

"And... Cool to meet you?"

"Why do other people figure it out before me..." Toxic cried anime tears. "My grades hide my stupidity!"

"...I wouldn't worry too much."

"But seriously... You know this fandom, right? WHY ARE YOU HERE?!"

"It's my job."

"You SAID you'd get around to playing FNAF one day, but I didn't think you meant it! Not literally! This is suicide, bro!"

"...it is, isn't it?" Fox sighed. "I know. But that's my only ticket out of here..."

"Eh? So... You're trying to beat the game? Or... week, in your job?"

DING-DONG-DANG-DONG...

"...speaking of, my shift's starting."

"Ehehe... And... what night are you on, Fox?"

"Night 6," Fox responded, a bit proudly.

"..."

"..."

"...WHAT?!"

The female author suddenly feared for her life.

She already heard footsteps...

"GET ON THE DOORS NOW! THEY'RE SUPER ACTIVE TONIGHT!

I SWEAR, IF I WASN'T SO POWERLESS, I WOULD KILL YOU, FOX!"


	4. Chapter 4

"Frick, frick, frick!" Toxic squealed in terror, looking at the lit doorway with wide-eyes. "Shut, shut, shut! FOX, GET ON THAT DOOR, CHECK FREDDY, FOXY, LIGHT, DOOR—!"

"I got it; chill!"

"THERE ARE THINGS OUT TO KILL US; WE CAN'T CHILL! NOT NOW!" the female author screamed, shaking Fox by the shoulders. "WE WILL DIE—!"

"We will if you don't let go of me!"

"… TRUE!"

Fox sighed irritably, but his breaths quickened as he repeated his procedure. The female was looking like she was about to lose it… and they weren't even so far into the night. It was a sort of double shift. Both were looking over the cameras, checking each door, each shadow, listening to each noise—paranoia remained the worst thing in the world, and it would soon worsen to the point that the pair would never speak…

"FOX, I SWEAR TO—!"

…well, that was a short-lived lie.

The man looked at her impatiently.

"I'm trying to look at the cameras!"

"Me too!" Toxic pouted at him irritably as she simultaneously pressed at her door.

"Well, don't!" Fox responded, looking down at her as he glanced at Freddy on the security feed.

"I should have more authority! I beat this night already!" Toxic flailed her arms, narrowing them at her friend.

"After how many tries?!" The guard asked urgently.

"…no comment!" Toxic whistled innocently, suddenly acting like she had no interest in the current topic.

"Why can't we just assign one person to the cameras and the other to the doors?" Fox replied tiredly, shutting his door as Chica grinned widely behind him through the window.

"Too many variables, especially with miscommunication! Do YOU want to face the robots of hell?!"

"Do YOU?!"

"We're gonna' die, fast!" Toxic wailed anime tears.

"We're not going to; stop panicking. If you've beat this game, it's a no brainer, right?"

"But I've never had REAL experience with it!"

"Well, I think this counts towards it…"

"Pessimistic Toxic has kicked in; the optimistic Toxic is of no return!" the author panicked.

"Toxic…" Fox sweatdropped.

"…wait a minute, with the way we're going… we _should_ be dead now. Why aren't we dead, Fox? Is the cake a lie? Did hope triumph despair? Is the universe a hologram?"

"Wh-what—how should I know?" Fox replied, shaking his head. Then he frowned. "Th-that's right though… why aren't we dead yet?"

"Maybe game dead isn't the same as actual dead! Maybe it's been paranoia all along! We're saved!" Toxic chirped happily, then paused. "…oh, it's because we've shut both doors… wishful thinking."

"…Wait. We drain our power—"

"…%3. Well, fudge."

 **Whiiiirrrrrr….!**

"…well, FNAF is one way to go out…" Fox grumbled bitterly. He glanced at the doors nervously as the lights flickered, the doors sliding open…

"But this doesn't make any sense! We've barely been here five minutes! It shouldn't be possible!" Toxic yelped. "Retry, retry, retry! Please, game, I will love you forever if you just give us more time! I'LL MARRY YOU! GOD FORBID!"

Silence.

"… I don't think that worked, Toxi—"

"I know it didn't, Foxeh," the author responded sadly. "Well… you've been a cool guy. Nice knowing you, I guess."

"…was… was that meant to be goodbye?" Fox blinked at her.

"…no, it isn't! Fox, I seriously value you as a friend; you deserve a PROPER goodbye! Come here; I'll hug the fudge out of you and suffocate you so you don't have to be killed by THEM!" Toxic dashed forward, an emotional and sincere expression on her face.

Her heart was in the wrong place.

"Wha—no way, Toxic!" Fox side-stepped quickly, and the female tripped. Her breath hitched as she fell face flat onto the floor, out into the right hallway. Her hair parted as she lifted her head, then blinked, looking around in the hallway.

After a few seconds, recognition hit her, and she screamed, scrambling back to her feet. A pair of hands grabbed her and hauled her back into the Office before the hands of a yellow chicken could grab her.

"Th-thanks… I-I… almost… g-got a gameover…" Toxic breathed, eyes wide with terror. "I want to go back to my lonely, utterly-antisocial home now."

"I don't think there's going to be a game over… for either of us," Fox muttered, seeming thoughtful as he helped Toxic upright. "We were screwed a while ago. Night 6 is busy, right?"

"Mega busy," she replied shakily. "There's a specific method I had to follow, repeatedly, without fail, and it was irritating to the brink of madness." Her left eye twitched. "Mad. Ness."

"We haven't even so much as followed that method to the T," Fox pointed out, looking at Toxic with a baffled expression.

"Maybe it's a glitch?" Toxic mused. "…anyway, why the Hell are we still here if it is?! We should be exploiting it!" She glanced around the room quickly, then at the ceiling.

"I dunno…"

"Fox! There's a vent in the ceiling!" The female started jumping up, but was ultimately too short to reach it.

"Toxic, I don't think you're going to reach that…"

"Nonsense!" she replied quickly. She started climbing on the desk.

"Uh… Toxic…"

She stared at it with an annoyed expression.

"I will own you, you motherfudging vent! I WILL OWN YOU AND YOUR ELEMENTS!"

And with that declaration, she leapt.

The result was, in a word, catastrophic.

Several things fell off the desk, oh, and the human herself, starting a dog pile on top of Fox.

"… There isn't going to be a running gag of me getting hurt as a result of your shenanigans, is there?" he deadpanned, looking at her with a deadpan expression.

Toxic chuckled sheepishly. "Of course not!"

"Because I'm noticing a pattern…"

"Nu!" she denied quickly. She got to her feet, and held out a hand to Fox to help him up. He pulled himself up, and she, quite rejected, looked elsewhere. She brushed off the rejection and gave a determined expression. "Okay! Plan B! You hoist me up there!"

"…what?" Fox stared at her. This girl… sure, he'd known her over the forum, but… she really was as determined and perky as she made herself out to be… She wasn't like this all the time… right? Regardless, she was still trying, and it seemed Optimistic Toxic, as she put it, had returned. But how would they get the vent open…? "Even if we reach it, you know it's not open, right?"

"There'll be a screwdriver somewhere here!" she responded stubbornly. She quickly scanned the desk, then her frowny face made another appearance. "Fudge…"

"Why would you think that…?"

"Oooooh, don't blame me! I'm used to Fallout logic…" she looked down sadly. "The protagonist always inexplicably has a screwdriver… Why can't we inexplicably have a screwdriver?! So unfair..."

"I never really questioned it," Fox responded, rubbing the back of his neck.

 **Thud, thud, thud…**

"…! Foxeh! Hide me!" The girl shrunk behind the man.

"Why do I have to be a body shield?" Fox asked her irritably.

"You're not a body shield… just… a barricade…?" she asked sheepishly. "You're probably stronger than me! You'll live! Possibly suffer…" She squeaked that last part, and immediately felt sad.

Fox glanced at her with a very unamused expression, to which she smiled sheepishly.

The pair watched on in horror as the footsteps got closer and closer, coming from the door on the right. A shadow danced across the floor slowly, alerting the two beings of its ominous owner's existence. The female shivered visibly, her face turning pale from fear: she glanced behind, checking the other door, but no chicken turned up to 'apprehend' the two. This figure was lone in its actions, calm and composed.

Both he and her had the idea of it being the very mascot of the establishment, arriving as soon as the perilous power had drained—but his arrival was delayed, very much so. The footsteps seemed… less heavy than usual, and Fox couldn't place these soft steps being those of Freddy Fazbear's.

These doubts were soon brought to fruition as a young boy with short and messy brown hair stepped into the light of the office, bearing blue eyes and shorter than the other man in the room. This boy was clad in a very prepared outfit: jeans, a shirt, jacket, trainers… and a belt, holding a bunch of spherical, red and white balls.

This newcomer had little to blend in with his surroundings; his clothing was bright and colourful in comparison to the murky reds and browns plastered all over the tiles. Toxic blinked, her green eyes focusing on him more clearly; upon this inspection, she realized this person was a Pokemon trainer… and at that, she raised an eyebrow. What was someone like that doing here?

Better yet, why was she asking herself that question when she was here herself?

Fox squinted at the boy, then glanced over his shoulder, looking for some evidence of a killer animatronic—any indication that they were returning, slowly but surely, and just raring to stuff their mutilated corpses into a suit…

The boy blinked at Fox's movements, then waved a dismissive hand, smiling good-heartedly.

"There isn't an issue with those guys anymore," he stated, sounding satisfied with himself. "They're outta' commission for good…"

Fox couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What?"

The boy wasn't serious, was he…? There were like sequels left and right—it would be **difficult** to put them out of commission…

Toxic blinked, then her eyes glistened. She stepped out from behind Fox confidently, ready to fight the rest of the day.

"Oh, brave boy! Thank you so much—"

The boy paused, placing an index finger on his chin. "At least I think so. Scott's crafty, seemingly…"

"Y-you… th-think so…?" Toxic trembled; she immediately reverted back to hiding again, insecure and fearing for her life.

"Eh. Live and let live, I guess." The boy shrugged. "Hey, Crystal! Finished?"

"Zeb…!"

A creature trotted up behind him, and Fox stiffened immediately, jumping at the foreign creature entering. Soon enough, however, he realized what it was. Black and white. Literally looked like a zebra. Yellow and blue eyes. It was a Zebstrika, a Pokemon.

"You're… a Pokemon trainer?" He blinked.

"Yeah," the boy responded, grinning. "Name's Flash—"

"FLASHY-KUN!"

'Flash' was interrupted by a glomping Toxic, and he gasped for air whilst trying to pry her off.

At the nickname, realization hit him, and he looked down.

"Toxic?"

The author then pulled away, allowing him to gather oxygen once again before pouting at him. She folded her arms, looking annoyed.

"All you people are taller than meh… why…" she whined. "I wanna' be cool too!"

"Flash, huh? Y'know, since Toxic popped up, I was kinda expecting you to show up too…" Fox shrugged, looking confident in himself.

"C'mon, Foxeh, you looked just as shocked as me," Toxic deadpanned at him, elbowing him.

"Maybe a little. I knew it was going to be someone, but…" Fox tried to explain what he meant, apparently. "…I didn't know it was going to be FLASH…"

"Sure," Flash responded good-naturedly, giving a casual shrug. "Thing is, I'm here now… and you're Fox?"

"Yeah… Toxic said as much… no point in introducing myself now…" Fox rubbed the back of his neck.

The female author laughed sheepishly. "Sorreh, Foxeh…"

"Good to meet you, man! But I never thought I'd meet you in THIS kinda scenario." Flash frowned. "The world's… all messed up. We have to try fix it… stat."

Toxic lurked at the side of the room awkwardly as the two spoke.

"Yeah… we really do need to get on that," Fox replied, then glanced around, cringing slightly. "Of course, I ended up here, and so did she…"

"Ah, I see," Flash responded with an understanding nod. "…seriously, Fox, why?"

"I… don't really know. I got thrown into here, and I found this note… It said that if I wanted to get out alive, I had to live through the worst thing imaginable. And so… I got my job."

"And this was on that list," Flash concluded, scowling slightly. "Sick person…"

"Yeah; I can definitely say this isn't good for someone's health… I almost died a few times…"

"This game's lethal," Flash stated, glancing around the office. "Luckily, I didn't end up here…"

"How did you even make the game malfunction?" Fox tilted his head, concentrating and looking thoughtful.

"Oh, that's easy. Good shot of electricity did the trick! Shorts them out. Right, Crystal?"

"Zebbbb!" his companion, bearing a golden medal, responded in agreement. She looked proud at this add-in.

"That's… exactly what Purple Guy did."

"…huh?" Flash glanced at Toxic with a questionable expression. "What?"

Toxic squinted at Flash.

"Taser'd the animatronics..."

There was a long silence.

"FOX, FLASH IS PURPLE GUY! GET HIM!"

Flash and Fox shared glances, deadpan ones.

The female stared at them, thinking briefly before her face lit up in horror.

"You two are in cohorts?!" Toxic gasped, pointing. "Of COURSE! My theory that the Purple Guy had an accomplice! _Flash_ is Purple Guy, and _Fox_ is the accomplice!"

"Toxic…" Flash muttered, frowning awkwardly. "I'm your friend…"

"According to the internet!"

"I'm clearly not wielding any murder weapons."

"YOUR POKEBALLS COULD BE IDEAL MURDER WEAPONS OF DEATH!"

"I'm not purple, am I?"

"I know you're not, but Scott would've probably used that in a way of expressionism! Purple representing… royalty? …this HAS to be the wrong era."

Flash sighed.

"Look, Purple Guy or not, we need to get outta' here. What if the guy that threw Fox in here is still around?" Flash reasoned, folding his arms. "You two don't want to wind up stuck in here with those… things, again, and I definitely don't, not when we've got a world to save."

"Exactly. So… uh… it might be better if you quit the Sticks act…" Fox rubbed the back of his neck, glancing around anxiously.

"Don't bring Sticks into this! She's guilty of false identity!" Toxic huffed.

"False identity…?"

"Come on, Toxic. Let's find an exit."

Flash grabbed her hand and started walking towards the exit, soon followed by Crystal.

The female flailed in panic. "I'm being kidnapped by a bunch of lies! Help!"

Fox walked after her, looking at her in a confused manner.

"…who are you shouting to?"


	5. Chapter 5

**BOOM!**

A flurry of rocks and cement was sent flying in all directions.

"Annnd, there we go. An exit." Flash casually pointed at the gaping hole in the wall. Beside him stood a bulky animal, carrying a red I-beam girder and looking quite satisfied with his work. Flash grinned at his friend clad in a construction vest, then took a few steps forward. "Heh—guy's a natural at wrecking AND building stuff."

His companions, one of them, didn't seem too thrilled about the idea…

"I hope the company won't bill you for that," Fox muttered, staring at the exit with wide eyes.

"We're leaving now; they won't know who did it," Flash responded, waving a dismissive hand.

"Yeah, but they have security cameras—"

"Nobody'll go back," Flash cut in quickly, walking forward briskly.

Fox gave a deadpan expression at this, then sighed to himself, trying to keep up with Flash.

Flash paused mid-step, then glanced at the older man with a more serious expression.

"…where's Toxic?"

"Kidnapped by Bowser?" Fox joked, then glanced behind him. He blinked and stared blankly. The girl was missing.

"Oh, great…" Flash muttered, dragging his hand down his face.

"…okay, I didn't mean for the joke to actually happen," Fox mumbled, looking around quickly.

"Hold down the fort, Paul," Flash ordered, then walked back to the gaping hole. The Gurdurr nodded and glanced around cautiously.

The boy stopped at the hole, then called out gently:

"Toxic? There's an exit now!" he called. "We can leave this freaky place!"

Flash couldn't hear anything; not immediately. At first, he couldn't understand why Toxic didn't want to leave… unless something had happened to her. He was raring to go back in, but… But after a few seconds, he heard it. Whimpering. Whimpering that sounded like it was from a piteous mutt, full of terror and sadness. And then, sobbing.

It was definitely Toxic, but Flash had a hard time believing that… he'd rarely heard her in this state.

"Toxic?" he called again, furthering into the diner. His footsteps echoed throughout the building, until this sound ceased at the sight of a girl, curled up and leaning against a wall in the hall. She stared blankly, tears rolling down her eyes. Her sounds of sorrow had ceased, seemingly, and Flash's brow creased.

"Hey…"

His gaze drifted down onto something that had seemingly dropped out of her hands. It looked like… a totem? Whatever the case, it looked old…

He reached down to take it, but Toxic's hand gently slapped him away.

"Tox—?"

"N-no!" her voice broke, cracked and in shock. "Don't pick that up!"

"…" Flash frowned at her, most definitely concerned. "…okay. I won't pick it up. But we need to get out of here, Toxic."

"I ju-just need a minute…" she responded, visibly shaking. What happened…? Why was she acting this way?

The pair waited in silence, until Toxic pulled herself to her feet. Half way through, Flash assisted her, and she blinked at him, before giving a weak smile.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm f-fine. Just… let's go, okay?" Her response was quick, a little too quick for Flash's taste, and she soon briskly walked down the hall, towards the hole. It seemed she was very eager to get out…

Staring after her for a moment, Flash shook his head. He frowned slightly before setting off after her, thinking about what she could have possibly seen. He stopped momentarily, and glanced back at the totem on the floor. It was animalistic, and… just out of place, even in the Fazbear establishment. He didn't trust it at all, but…

He told Toxic that he wouldn't pick it up. So he wouldn't. He'd keep to his word. He trusted she knew what she was doing…

Eventually, he reached the exit again, soon spotting Paul keeping an eye out, and Fox and Toxic conversing.

"Man, are you alright?" Fox stared at her with a firm expression. "You're all red… It looks like you've been crying…"

"I-I'm fine. Don't worry about me," Toxic responded, forcing a chipper smile. "Just… the nerves and everything. It'll pass!"

Fox was suspicious at that.

The nerves had gotten to her a while ago, whilst she was in the office with him. She'd been very frightened, but regardless kept going, maintaining a positive outlook on the situation, despite her description of feeling pessimistic. She wasn't crying then… but she was now. So she must have seen something her own cheery spirits couldn't have combat… but what?

Whatever the case, he had a feeling it wouldn't 'pass'.

"Okay, we're all out now," Flash walked up behind them, then glanced around. "How to go about fixing this…"

"You g-guys seen Darky?" Toxic asked, drying her eyes and trying her best to regain her voice. She didn't want her friend to notice too… she disliked worrying everyone. "Sh-she was doing something to help out…"

"She's here too?" Fox blinked, then shrugged. "I'm just going to assume everyone on the forum is going to be here."

"No fourth wall jokes, Fox! That poor thing has suffered enough!" Toxic perked up again, pointing at him accusingly.

"Really?"

"Yeah! Especially since we're living, walking fourth wall breakers!" She flailed.

Fox shrugged in response, rolling his eyes with a smile.

Flash chuckled. She was herself again.

Though that still didn't stop him worrying.

"So, Darky's here," Flash got them both back on track. "Where'd she go?"

"Well… um… she told me to go inside this building for safety—"

"…not the best place."

"It was the only option, okay?" Toxic pouted. "Darky was looking out for me; there was nowhere else! Besides, whatever she's fighting… I was hopeless against. At least in FNAF, you have actual DOORS to defend yourself! Not a crummy piece of wood!"

"Still didn't change that they were trying to kill us," Fox added in. Toxic was about to add to that, but couldn't think of something to talk back with. Instead, she pointed.

"Okay. How about this? FNAF, or THOSE guys?!"

Fox's pupils shrunk.

"...okay, I take FNAF."

There was a vast wall of white closing in; it was moving, shifting… but that was only because it was made out of a vast amount of living organisms. They were moving, exposing their teeth, exposing their fearful appearance. Worst of all, they were multiplying; they were layering themselves, getting bigger and bigger, and taller and taller.

Flash scowled at this enemy, and glanced at Paul with a wary expression. The Gurdurr noted this expression, and soon mirrored his master's. Toxic squeaked fearfully and hid behind Fox, closing her eyes and pretty sure a plank of wood wouldn't help her this time.

"Where's Darky?! Where's Sonic?! They were meant… they were meant to be fighting these guys! They were meant to be **beating** them! Where are they?!" Toxic panicked, looking painfully worried.

"I'm sure they're fine, Toxic…" Flash muttered.

"Flash? We got a plan?" Fox asked, glancing at the younger one hopefully.

"Heh. Now?" Flash asked, looking at Fox with a serious expression.

"Oh, no…" The man's eyes widened. "You're… You're not thinking of fighti—?"

"Hell no! RUN!"

The pair suddenly ran left, and Toxic opened her eyes, squeaking in fear.

"WAIT FOR ME, PEEPS!"

"Paul! Return!" Flash yelled, holding out his Pokéball. Soon enough, the Gurdurr vanished in a flash of red light, and he attached the ball to his belt quickly. He withdrew another one, throwing it into the air.

"Crystal! We need you again, girl!"

The black and white creature surfaced from the light, letting out a cry, and one the equivalent of 'wut' at the sight of the massive wall of critters after them.

Slowing down, she allowed Flash to jump on. The boy turned around, looking for the nearest person to help up.

"Fox!"

"You sure I won't get shocked or anything?!" he called, squinting at the Zebstrika cautiously.

"This isn't a Ponyta! You'll be fine; come on!"

Reaching his hand out, the boy leaned over one side of his friend, nearing Fox's suddenly-moving hand. After a few tries, they managed, hands connecting and gripping firmly. Flash pulled Fox on, with a little bit of difficulty. Fox was lurched over the back of Crystal, and had to cope with the speed of the Pokémon whilst trying to steady himself on the ride carefully.

"Right! Where's Toxic?!"

"I'M HEREEEEE!" came a scream, Toxic running, but obviously lagging. Toxic was not necessarily good in the stamina department… she'd have to stop soon…

Her eyes scanned their source of transport, and she immediately frowned. There wouldn't be enough space for her without risking everyone falling off…

"Flash! We need to slow down; I don't think she could reach us!"

"Yeah! I had too much sugar!" Toxic agreed.

"I'd say that everyday…" Fox grumbled.

"What was that?!"

"Nothing!"

"Alright, slowing down—"

"Wait!" Toxic breathed. "There's no space for me! I—I'll hide!"

"Don't give me that bull! It doesn't work!" Flash narrowed his eyes. "Now hang on—!"

Suddenly, time seemed to slow down; it went from a fast-paced situation to a sluggish one. Toxic turned to see the wall lurching forward towards her…

…only to be decimated by a Shock Wave of electricity.

She stared in shock as they fell to the floor, momentarily stunned, and had little time to react when she was hauled onto the back of the zebra-like creature that had seemingly come back for her.

There was little space left, but… she'd been put in the middle. Poor Fox was close to falling off at the back.

Fox looked extremely unbalanced, and looked down at the floor that was just begging for a floor kiss.

"Uh… we aren't gonna' be long on this thing, are we?"

"We'll be on it long enough," Flash responded, staring forward.

Toxic stared down at the clip-clopping heels on Crystal and looked at Flash curiously. Her eyes lit up slightly, and she gave a meek smile.

 _…yeah. These are my friends._

"Fla-Flash—"

"Can we talk later?" he asked, abruptly. "Kinda in the middle of defying our deaths."

"…okay," the female responded with a nod. Flash's behaviour had shifted… he'd seemed so… caring and good-humoured before… well… he was still that now, but when his friends were threatened… he'd turned quickly, and Toxic found expressing her thanks difficult at this point in time. She sighed quietly.

She was so useless… she hated it.

Fox, clinging on for dear life, glanced to see the wall decreasing in size.

"We're getting further away!"

"But that still doesn't fix the problem…" Toxic muttered sadly. "I hope Darky and Sonikku are okay…"

"Toxic, they'll be fine. It's Darky. And Sonic. Need I explain?" Fox asked with an optimistic smile.

"…nah," she responded with a small smile. "I have faith… but… I still worry…"

"That's confusing logic," Fox replied, rubbing the back of his neck.

"It is… but that's what I live with." The female author chuckled to herself. "This day has been… the most awful day ever, but…"

"If you say something cheesy, then I'm sorry, ma'am, but I'll have to put you down." Fox acquired sunglasses!

"…where did you get those?"

"FNAF place. Stashed in the corner. I guess the night guard wears them when he's completely owning the animatronics." Fox shrugged.

"That's cool…" Toxic laughed. "But seriously, you cannot halt the cheesey stuff! That's our most powerful weapon!"

"Guys…"

"Don't make me hurt you, Toxic!"

"If thou does be brutish, I shall be brutish back; I will kick you off dis ride, boi!"

"That was… an odd mix of eras."

"OFF DIS R—"

"GUYS. If I have to say 'guys' again—"

"We're sorry, Flashy-kun!" Toxic frowned, turning her attention away from Fox and to Flash. Fox sweatdropped and then looked ahead.

"…That's…"

"A city. Big one," Flash answered, his gaze focused on the horizon.

"Then there's hope!" Toxic grinned happily.

 **"…no. There's only despair."**

"…eh?! W.T.F.?!"

"Stop, Crystal!"

The Zebstrika skidded to a stop, and then glanced around, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. She looked slightly protective of the group as she took a couple of steps back.

A shadow was cast in front of them… this shifted, and there stepped something round, big… noticeably black and white with a terrifying red indentation for an eye.

"…! IT'S SO CUTE, I'M GOING TO DIE!" Toxic screamed. Then paused. "…huh, those actually represent my feelings and scenario here."

Flash's expression grew repugnant; he KNEW what this meant!

"This isn't good… Crystal—"

"Stop."

Behind this robotic creature, stepped a boy, wearing a mask and clad in a cloak. His sombre gaze scanned them, seemingly showing signs of inspection.

"…I'm not going to kill you, you fucking scrubs."

Suddenly, everyone found themselves grinning at this insult.


	6. Chapter 6

"G!" Flash exclaimed, grinning widely. He hopped off Crystal, Toxic hesitantly following... He returned the zebra Pokemon just as Fox was in the middle of getting off.

He had a split-second of realising there was nothing below him, and then...

Fox fell face-first into the floor, and sighed irritably as this whole scenario was ignored. Flash could have at least checked he was off first...

Speaking of said journeyman, Flash looked a cross between relieved and amused. "We were wondering when you were gonna' show u-"

The cloaked being glared at him from the shadows of his cloak. "Shut up, serf. Stop right there."

"...huh?" Flash blinked blankly. He then looked irritated. "Okay..."

"...?" Toxic glanced at the figure uneasily, lurking behind Flash; she frowned deeply, seemingly concerned about something... She looked nervous, worried... and just a little unstable.

Certainly, she'd grinned at G's arrival; she wasn't never happy to see him. But...

"Uh... hey, G..." Fox had stood up, and was now before them, rubbing his back and wincing. "What're you doing here?"

"What are YOU doing here?" G echoed, narrowing his eyes. He glanced at them all briefly, and his wear clouded his pitying expression. Regardless of this, he put forward a tone of severity. "Towa City. That's asking for it."

One of the beings' faces lit up with recognition.

"T-Towa City?!" Toxic squeaked in shock. Her eyes went wide, and she ran around, flailing her arms and freaking out. "NUUUUUUUU! WE'REGONNA'BEDEVOUREDBYTHECUTETEDDYBEARDEMONS!"

"..."

Flash and Fox exchanged glances.

"Beard demons?" Flash shrugged.

"...G, could you translate that?" Fox asked, glancing at the panicking teenager with a confused expression.

G looked to the side, then sighed. "She's talking about the Monokuma units here."

"Wait, Monokuma units...?" Fox blinked, then he remembered something. "Oh, yeah... That's what was shown on the screens in the final trial... Heads on people... right?"

Flash looked slightly unnerved. "Surely that won't happen to us..."

G shook his head. "No. Not just the heads... Literal units. Sent out to slaughter everyone in existence... apart from a few kids and select people..."

"What?" Flash and Fox asked in unison, wide-eyed.

The female author recovered from her panic.

"Hehehe, yeah... The mastermind's Monokuma was being generous... Physically, anyway," Toxic chuckled sheepishly. She looked disturbed... "If poor Naegi-kun suffered that..."

"Things like that... Can't be too harmful, right?" Flash asked nervously in response.

"Just because something looks cute and cuddly doesn't mean it is..." Toxic frowned sadly.

"Monokuma Units are very advanced technology. So, yeah, Flash. They are harmful," G added bluntly. "The one you know had restrictions for the sake of entertainment, and for trashing hope... That's not the rule of thumb out here."

"Wait, so this is essentially walking into a minefield?" Fox asked, eyes narrowing. He stared in realisation. "I'm going to be mutilated by little teddy bears. Well... That's a way to go out."

"Little?" G scoffed. "They're bigger than you think..."

He pointed to his own unit.

"Imagine this, but trying to brutally maim you."

"...!" The group had simultaneous shivers.

"Th-thanks..." Flash grumbled.

"Y-yeah..." Fox muttered, unnerved.

"I didn't need to imagine that again..." Toxic cringed.

"Just making the threat apparent," G replied sympathetically. "You guys should leave. Not safe here."

"It's not safe anywhere, G. There's no magical rainbows and fields of yellow flowers!"

"Thought you'd at least be happy about that part," he remarked. He frowned. "I see your point, though... Everything's crazy."

"Wait... You're asking US to leave... What about you?" Fox asked suspiciously.

G's expression was dismissive, but for a second it was ominous. "I'm on business."

"Business...?" Flash asked, looking curiously uneasy.

"G... What's your business?" The female queried quietly.

"Nothing for you guys to worry about." The cloaked boy was being evasive...

"..."

The group exchanged glances.

"Okay then..." Flash sighed, and turned around, starting for the vast wasteland beyond them...

As the pair of boys turned, however, there was a noticeable silence from the female...

Toxic stood firm regardless, eyes narrowing defiantly. "We're still not going anywhere."

"...huh?"

Both Fox and Flash turned their heads in confusion.

"Weren't you the party leader, Flash?" Fox whispered.

"We never really decided..." Flash whispered back.

"I think I'll call it," they both said in unison, then exchanged irritable expressions.

"Toxic... These plebians I can understand."

"Hey!" Fox glared.

"That's offensive." Flash pouted.

"But you... You know what happens here, right?" G frowned. "That should give you strong indication NOT to go!"

The author looked down hesitantly, her gaze small in comparison to the other's. After a moment, she looked up in determination, recalling something.

"Yeah, I do know. So that's exactly why we're staying!" she told him assertively. Something in her eyes gleamed... a desire to do something... to stop something from happening...

"Since when do we-" Fox started.

"Shhh." Flash made the 'don't go there' gesture.

G shook his head. "You could die, you know. All because of this stupid mistake."

"Then it's a stupid mistake we'll have to make!" She narrowed her eyes.

 _I have to do this..._

"Right, boys?!"

"Y-yeah..." Flash grumbled in submission. He wasn't going to argue with her when she was like this...

Fox looked stubborn. "Toxic, maybe G has a point... I don't want 'murdered by a giant teddy bear' on my gravestone."

"I don't either." Toxic turned around, then looked really concerned. "Please, Foxeh... Trust me on this..."

She looked down.

"Of course... I wouldn't judge you if you guys left and I stayed. I'd actually prefer it." She smiled sheepishly. "At least I could die with the thought that, somewhere, my friends are out there, fighting for the world..."

"..." The eldest looked genuinely guilty at that prospect...

Flash shook his head indignantly. "No. Forget it."

He took a step forward.

"Quit talking like that. You'll be fine."

Toxic suddenly looked sorrowful, regretting what she had said. That was an awful thing to ponder over... she didn't want to worry her friends like that...

"O-okay..." she muttered sadly. "Sorry, that was kinda morbid..."

G cleared his throat. "If you people are done..." he began, furrowing his brow. "It's better to find base than be out here like a bunch of sitting ducks."

"You must have one, then," Fox commented immediately, folding his arms. "I mean... You know the place well, right? And you wouldn't be a sitting duck..."

"A peasant even suggesting a thing is a peasant at best," G remarked with a tone of posh authority.

"..." Fox rolled his eyes. "Do you have a home base or not?"

"Yeah, but not inside the city itself; not since it's so overrun..." was his obvious response.

G turned heel, his cloak blowing in the breeze as he walked in a certain direction, custom Monokuma unit in tow.

"Keep up. If you get left behind, then I won't come back for you."

Flash squinted, pursing his lips. "Such a kind person..."

"That's G, alright..." Fox grumbled.

"He won't really leave us behind, right? ... right?"

Toxic noticed Flash and Fox were already gone.

"EEP!"

* * *

Flash stared in awe at the base.

"Whoa... look at that door..."

"Impenetrable; try getting in here when it's locked." G smirked sinisterly.

"I don't want to try..." Fox replied earnestly.

"Seems really familiar..." Flash rubbed his chin.

"...why're there a bunch of numbers on the front?" Toxic asked.

The group were stood in front of a large, metal door, shaped like a gear. In the centre, however, there was indeed a set of numbers plastered onto the metal...

"Maybe you know the answer to that."

G walked over to a key panel next to the door, and typed in a code.

"Empty, though. Don't worry too much."

Toxic looked like she'd recovered from a heart attack.

"Hey, I remember now... this is... from that wasteland game, right?"

Flash snapped his fingers. "I knew I recognized it! Not so much the number though..."

The door made a loud screeching sound that was the equivalent of nails on a chalkboard; it clearly hadn't been oiled in a long time, because its aged rust contributed greatly to the deafening of the beings around the door. The group cringed, but G, not so much.

"You get used to it," he responded casually. "Especially since nothing can get in here."

"Yeah, vaults are good for that," Fox agreed, nodding. He was still visibly cringing though. "Not so sure about getting used to it though..."

The door eventually opened, and there G entered, followed by the group behind him.

The room was completely metal; it had several contraptions that allowed the door to function, and there was another keypad on the inside of the vault. Metal stairs led up to a small balcony, where it met with the raised floor. Looked old, and perhaps even a little unnerving from being so empty, but it was still sturdy.

"This place has bedrooms, right? Kitchens? Utilities?" Flash asked, smiling in satisfaction.

"Pretty much. Good for guests, but I don't keep company. I usually sleep in the entrance..." G pointed to the other side of the room, where there was a chair with blankets and cushions. It was next to a desk with a terminal on it...

"Seems cosy," Fox commented, though could swear that looked uncomfortable.

"If somebody SOMEHOW gets in, I'll hear it before hand," G elaborated, then pointed at the door. "You'd be deaf to not hear that."

"Yet, ironically, you could also _go_ deaf from that..." Flash grumbled impishly.

"You guys can find yourselves a room. There's tons of them in here."

"What about you...?" Toxic asked concernedly.

G closed the vault door, causing an involuntary row of cringing yet again.

"I'm staying here. Need to keep watch..."

"For what?" Fox questioned, narrowing his eyes.

G hardly hesitated with his answer. "Anything, Fox. Anything."

"C'mon, guys, let's go find a room and leave G to his thing," Flash stated, smiling. "...I call dibs on the first double."

He ran down the stairs leading deeper into the vault.

"OI, I HAVEN'T SLEPT IN A DOUBLE BED FOR AGES, FLASH! I want the one closest to here! HAVE SOME HEART!"

Toxic ran after him.

Fox narrowed his eyes at G.

"You really sure there's nothing up?"

"Yeah, I am. You're wasting your time, you know, scrub."

"..."

Fox stared at him for a second, then shrugged. He reluctantly went after the others.

 _ **"Having fun, kid?"**_

 _"..."_

 _ **"Yeah? No?"**_

 _"...you're a waste of existence, you know."_

 _ **"Really? Interesting you think that! Especially since you're speaking to your future ruler!"**_

 _"Unlikely..."_

 _ **"Oh, yeah? Doubt ME, kid; that'll be the worst thing you'll ever do."**_

 _"I never said it wasn't the worst thing; you simply won't be ruler. Not for long, anyway..."_

 _ **"Riiiiiight. Anyway... in regards to your little 'hunt'-"**_

 _"Don't even negotiate."_

 _ **"And I thought you wanted answers."** _

_"I do. Just not from you."_

 _ **"Why are you doing this, anyway?"**_

 _"..."_

"G...?"

The sat up, blinking in his chair as he looked around with a groggy gaze.

Toxic was stood in front of him, a concerned expression on her face.

"...are you okay?"

 _ **"Oh.**_

 _ **Hahahaha... Oh, man, this is priceless! You REALLY think you can save them all?!"**_

There was a feeling of dread in G's stomach, but he ignored it...

"I'm fine..." G grumbled. He looked at her. "What're you doing up?"

"I can't sleep..." she responded uneasily. "I'm thinking about Darky..."

"Darky...?"

"Y-yeah... we got seperated..." Toxic frowned sadly. "Haven't seen her since..."

"Oh..."

G looked to the side, pondering something.

 _"I've already saved one. Don't make fun of me when you know I could."_

"...she'll be okay."

"You're sure?"

"You're asking that?" G gave a playful smirk. "Yeah. I'm sure."

 _ **"You're a strange kid. I kinda feel sorry for you... NOT! Lemme' know when you're feeling desperate, kiddo! I'll be happy to help!"**_

"..." Toxic gave a weak smile. "O-okay. Th-that... actually makes me feel a little better... you know her well, after all..."

 _"Forget it."_

"You do too; don't forget that." G frowned. "Have more faith in her; you know she'll be fine."

"...you're right." Toxic frowned. "But I can't just stop worrying."

She turned around and made for her room. Looking to G, she smiled slightly. "G'night, G!"

G smiled, though this smile... there was a twitch to it... a guilty, scared twitch that he was thankful Toxic didn't spot.

 _ **"Or, you could, you know, just let everyone you love die around you..."**_


	7. Chapter 7

The brown-haired man pulled himself to a sitting position as he stared down at the floor, looking thoughtful. This expression, however, was rack with suspicion, high alert.

He still didn't know what the guy upstairs was up to… G was… well, shifty, he supposed… always plotting things… he knew that well enough. Darky did it too, but she wasn't here…

Of course, Fox wouldn't suspect them solely on that. This business G mentioned, however… that's what struck a nerve. Why wouldn't he say? What could he possibly hide from the group, even Toxic, who he usually shared things with? It stumped him… he needed to find out…

Who knew what the business was? It could have been anything… the fact no one clarified the business itself was disturbing enough.

Sighing irritably, Fox pulled himself to his feet.

The room was plain, overridden with metal and monochrome theme. Simple bedside tables, mirrors, seats… even a cot, most probably for residents with children… Lights were built into the wall, and were surprisingly still running. Fox guessed this place made its own energy, and was automatic in that regard.

Overall, the room felt cold and… strange, even though it seemed like a regular room. It felt like a domain for a lab rat. It was so alien to him; he couldn't just get used to it. The mattress on the bed had been comfy, sure, but Fox hadn't been able to sleep. Not when he had so much on his mind… and not when this room was outside his usual comfort zone.

He also knew that, if this vault was truly from one of the games he recalled, that something disturbing would be behind it. The people that made these were indescribable ones, as the vaults were _never_ made to _help_ others. He'd made mental note of that as soon as he'd come in. These 'safety procedures' often ended in tragedy, not happiness. He wasn't sure if G was aware of that, or not… Hopefully he was, and he double-checked the area.

Still…

Fox felt uneasy either way. He glanced around the room for a moment, before moving to walk out of the room. He pressed a button on a panel next to the door, and with that action, it opened. He stepped out into the cold, long hallway, feeling alone and the area to be desolate.

"…those two had to get the upper rooms…" he grumbled.

For some reason, a lot of the rooms seemed to be cut off. When Fox had tried to get accommodation near Toxic and Flash, he'd failed. A majority of the doors were locked, unusable, and certainly un-hackable. It didn't help matters that the rooms weren't suitable for sharing… they had singles, and doubles, in each room, and he would much prefer not sharing a bed with someone else…

So, he was all alone on this floor. It felt so empty, so dead, so… frightening, when no one was around. He could hear a pin drop if it did, and the cold echo that it would cause. The floor was haunting, to say the least. Fox would have appreciated any noise that wasn't alien to cover it, like TV or something. That would have at least drowned out the silence, and made him feel less uneasy. There were no TVs in the rooms, however… and even if Fox _were_ to find one, he would have no signal.

He knew for certain that this vault wasn't to be just ignored… and that was what started his journey down the corridor, towards the stairway that led towards the lower floors. Somewhere, there had to be plans, notes, and just blueprints for this place… It was only then that Fox could be sure that they were safe. And probably get a decent night's sleep.

Approaching the staircase, he then pondered over the state of the world. The quietness of the vault, although unnerving, really allowed him to think about how only certain places were standing. He couldn't find a pattern yet, but there had to be some solid reason… and one for how the world was now…

He hadn't seen many living people about, and that prospect was more terrifying than anything. Then again, he hadn't seen the insides of Towa city, but a tiny voice inside of him told him that he didn't want to, especially by G's description.

Ironically, he still kept that in mind, despite his distrust of the latter… It didn't cross him that the other may have been keeping quiet to 'keep the peace', so to speak… No, no, Fox didn't think like that…

He descended the stairs…

Throughout his little walk, he kept feeling even more and more isolated. The loud thuds of his shoes on the cold, metal floors resonated around the rooms, displaying the emptiness around him, and how utterly alone he was. He could hear the heartless sounds, the low drilling, of the monitors around him… and a slight sound of something mechanical moving…

…at that, the man stopped. He looked around quickly, certain he heard something out of the ordinary, at least something he hadn't quite heard yet…

There, in the corner of the corridor, was a camera. It didn't move, of course, especially not when he was outright staring at it, but its light was dull, showing it to be inactive. Fox squinted at it in suspicion, looking over his shoulder with a wary expression. He honestly didn't trust this place at all… It wasn't helping his nerves.

For a few seconds, Fox considered going back to his room, or at least going back to ask either Flash or Toxic for their assistance… Thing was, he didn't want to burden them, especially if his paranoia turned out to be nothing. And that in itself would raise questions from G…

But these thoughts subsided as he spotted a window into the room to his left. He paused, then peered through it, spotting a mass array of papers, terminals, and file cabinets. The room was lit with a glowing red hue; definitely something that put him on edge. Why would you pick such a colour for a light…? It was odd…

Regardless, he looked to the door beside the window, which was sided by a keypad. He stared at it momentarily, then frowned. It was locked… and it required a key code or pass, both of which Fox didn't have. He contemplated the good old 'hit it and it'll work' trick, but he knew not to do that with this kind of technology… if anything, it'd just make getting into the room extremely difficult.

He almost lost hope when he heard a familiar sound; something in the keypad clicking, and the whirr of the door opening in front of him.

"…huh. That's… lucky…"

Fox blinked, a cross between almost pleasantly surprised and slightly weirded out. Regardless, he was thankful… he could finally see what was inside the room… And if it was important, he could alert the others immediately, and they could get out of this creepy place. Fox knew creepy by default, since he'd worked in that blasted diner.

He entered immediately, and noted the amount wreckage that surrounded the room. The door automatically closed behind him, and he directed his attention to that briefly before looking back at the room. It really had been deserted… Seemingly important papers had been scattered in every place that Fox could see. He assumed there had to have been some sort of struggle, or some sort of hurry, for this mess to even happen, but…

His blood ran cold at the noticeable blotches of red on some of the papers. He was hoping that wouldn't be too important, but he heavily doubted that.

Moving towards the wide selection of black, white, and red, he bent over, picking up a sheet of paper. He skimmed it, trying to determine its significance, then set it on a counter when he realized that was what it lacked. He repeated this process for many of the papers…

* * *

 **Click…**

Fox straightened, glancing to the door. He'd sorted through a majority of the sheets of paper; they were in neat piles, so he could assert confidently that he'd checked through them. But that noise… it sounded very similar to when the door kindly unlocked and opened itself for him, but he literally just had the equivalent of a small stack of papers left…

And surprise, surprise, this remaining set of papers was the one with the… unpleasantries slapped all over them. Fox wasn't looking forward to it, but he needed evidence… he needed utter assurance…

Most of what he'd read had been on experiments, but the notes never specified what those experiments were. He knew, though, that the people who made these vaults… they always tried to be discreet about what they were doing, so maybe that's why he hadn't found anything yet.

Regardless, he began sorting through the last papers, with an evidently disgusted expression. Handling things previously soaked with blood wasn't a fun task… and a majority of it had dried by now, leaving a horrible stench in its wake. Thankfully, it was still somewhat legible.

After a few papers, Fox stumbled across something that he thought rather interesting, in regards to his search…

"…what?"

 _Vault 110 is focused on, similar to its predecessors, a combination of both 11 and 19's studies. Both focused on an aspect of self-preservation, and the paranoia around that preservation. Subjects involved in the experiment will be studied not only on their defiance towards the sacrifice of human life…_

"What the Hell…?" Fox growled, narrowing his eyes. This was messed up… He continued reading nonetheless…

 _…but the method of sacrificing human life itself._

Fox paled. What did that mean…?

 _Along with their freedom, subjects will have their preservation threatened if another subject is not 'sacrificed' during the appropriate duration; this sacrifice must be done by subjects themselves, not by any person of authority…_

Fox' expression progressively got more and more pale; all the colour drained from his face as he continued reading. He couldn't believe this…

 _…subjects' lives will be terminated if they fail to yield results. Researchers must effectively study their respective subject's methods of murder and investigation, no matter the brutality they will face._

 _The Overseer has the responsibility of seeing these procedures through. This programme is to begin approximately 50 years on from vault entrance; subjects will live normally up until this time, building relationships and ultimately giving variables in test results._

"…what the Hell?!"

 _"Ooooh, you discovered the secret, didn't you?"_ a voice sounded in the room from a speaker. _"Heeheehee. Who would have thought, when you were taking sooooooo long, that you'd actually get somewhere?"_

…the voice that spoke to Fox, and the voice that literally made him jump, wasn't one he recognized. It sounded like a child was speaking to him… they sounded so soft-spoken, but in reality, that voice was mocking him, and he knew it.

"...who's talking to me?" he growled.

 _"Oh, nobody special… you'll find out soon enough, though, I'm sure you will!"_

"Quit messing around, kid!"

 _"Hey… hey… do you like your friends?"_

Fox froze. He looked like he was in the middle of a pained realization. "Wh-wh…why are you asking that?"

 _"Just curious… What would you do if… they disappeared? Would you be sad? Would you cry? Would you kill yourself over it?"_

"…you better stop talking like that right now, you rotten little kid!" Fox narrowed his eyes. He stuffed the paper in his pocket and then ran towards the door, towards the keypad…

But the door was locked!

 _"Why? Are you gonna' come and get me? You'll hafta find me first! Heehee, not even that… you'll have to get out!"_

"I'll shoot off this lock…!" the man threatened, looking unnerved.

 _"But you don't even have your gun here! You left it behind, silly!"_

"…Wh…" Fox checked his waist. He'd taken the holster off earlier… "…c-crap…"

" _People really are pathetic… when they're desperate. Don'tcha' think?"_

Fox looked up at a camera in the room. "…huh?"

 _"Why aren't you happy? You're going to be the last one left, 'Foxeh'."_

He had chills at that echo, and it took him a second to realize she wasn't _just_ mocking him…

 _"Heehee. Well, that is, if everyone except you dies. If one's left over, then… oh, dear…"_

"You better not do anything to them!" Fox glared. "Or you better believe, I will find you, and I will kill you!"

 _"… huh. And here I thought you were all a bunch of softies! This'll be so much more interesting… won't it? If only someone else had looked in here, and not the one with the itchy trigger finger… You would've started it off well!"_

"What are you talking about?!" Fox snarled in anger. "Started off what well?!"

 _"Oh, why… mutual killing, of course! Big Sis Junko was VERY fond of that! I'm hoping to do her proud! To the very end…"_

"J-Junko?!"

 _"Heehee. Yup, she's so awesome… All of your friends… they're going to die. You'll just have to adjust and accept it."_

Fox's eyes widened.

 _"Because like it or not, you're ALL going to slide down the big ol' spiral of despair!"_


	8. Chapter 8

"Mornin', Toxic!"

Flash stood near her door, smiling at her in a friendly manner as she walked out. She smiled at him in return, then immediately grew reclusive when she noted her friend's sweatdropping expression at her bedhead. She quickly tried to straighten out her hair, acting professionally but failing.

"M-morning, Flashy-kun!" She grinned sheepishly, putting on her scarf. "…you didn't have to wait for me, you know…"

"May as well," Flash chuckled in response, shrugging.

"Please don't in the future. I feel bad for burdening you…" Toxic looked down impishly.

"It's no burden!" he replied cheerily. "Now, hows about we go get G and Fox and head for breakfast?"

"Yeah!" the female agreed happily.

The pair turned, walking up the stairs towards the entrance to the vault.

"So… umm… Flash… did you sleep well…?" the girl asked, glancing at him with a friendly face.

"I've slept better… but I slept alright," Flash responded, not seeming too bothered about last night's sleep. "How about you, Toxic?"

"…" She was silent for a second, glancing away with a frown. "I've slept better too…" she muttered cautiously. "…I was up for a while… not even for constructive reasons…"

Flash looked at her with concern. "What kept you up?"

"…Darky," she muttered hesitantly.

"Toxic, really. You don't have to wo—"

"I still do," Toxic interrupted, seemingly wanting to get off the topic. She looked like she was trying to avoid it completely, and Flash wasn't against that. He hated seeing the pained expressions on her face again and again…

The two ascended the stairs, stopping at the top. They walked through a set of automatic, metal doors, and then stopped at seeing G, already up and 'at 'em'.

"Hi, G!" Toxic chirped immediately, walking over to him with Flash behind her.

"Hey, guys," G greeted with a wave, not fully looking at them.

"…something wrong?" Toxic asked, blinking at his current fascination with the controls.

"Yeah… having some technical issues with the door."

"Technical issues…?" Flash questioned, tilting his head with a frown.

"Shouldn't be long before we can get moving though," G told them in reassurance. He shrugged casually, then looked at them with questionable expression. "What's up?"

"Well… we were kinda hoping to have breakfast with everyone," Toxic explained sheepishly, tenting her fingers nervously.

"…I see," G replied, then smirked slightly. "Why'd you come up for me first?"

"We could get Fox on the way down," Flash told him, looking over his shoulder. "He's a floor down… everywhere else was locked."

G blinked. "Every room on your floor, except yours and Toxic's, was locked?" he asked sceptically.

"Yeah… I guess this place must be malfunctioning or something…?" the girl asked sheepishly.

"…they weren't locked when I checked the place."

"What?!" Flash and Toxic both shouted in unison, then looked at each other before staring at G in bafflement.

"Why would they lock like that?" Flash asked, looking worried.

"I don't know… but I have a feeling that we need to find Fox. This is way too coincidental." G scowled, finishing what he was doing before turning towards the stairs.

"But, G… you cleared out the place, right?" Toxic asked anxiously, following the boy as he walked towards the stairway.

"I thought I did…" G muttered.

The girl looked worried.

"Hopefully it's nothing too scary…" Flash walked next to Toxic in a form of physical reassurance.

"Yeah… hopefully…" the author muttered, looking to the side as they descended the stairs. "Geez, you stay in a place for one night and suddenly bad things happen…"

"Kinda the norm in horror games," Flash commented, grinning slightly. "This isn't scary so far, though…"

Toxic elbowed him gently.

"Oi, don't jynx it… I dun want it to get scary…"

G walked ahead as the two conversed, and reached the bottom of the stairs. As he passed the locked doors with the group, he squinted in suspicion, wondering why they all could be locked.

If someone was responsible for it, it was obviously to single out one of the people out who DIDN'T get one of the rooms… and that made G all the more apprehensive.

Toxic looked at the locked doors with a new perspective; at first, she'd been curious, but now… she felt… unnerved that it might've been some sort of trick…

Flash was just as anxious about the whole scenario, but ultimately hoped for the best regardless… Fox had to be alright, right?

The group approached the second set of stairs, and continued down them, wary of their surroundings. Their footsteps emphasized the emptiness in this new area… no one talked; all they could hear was the sound of the monitors, all whirring in a technical orchestra, and their own breaths.

Once reaching the bottom, they looked around. The group went about inspecting the doors. A lot of them were open, but a few of them were locked…

"…Fox was in this one."

G was stood inside a bedroom, sided by living quarters, looking at the bed side table. There was a 9mm revolver there, in its holster.

Flash poked his head in. "Guess he was paranoid enough about this place to know to leave his weapon close by…"

"But he didn't take it with him…" Toxic mumbled with worry behind him. "Which means, if he's in trouble now…"

"…yeah…"

"Come on." G made his way out of the room briskly.

The two remaining glanced at each other, frowning deeply, before following after their comrade.

"…hang on." He stopped, then turned to Toxic, holding out something. "Here."

"…h-huh?" Toxic blinked at him in uneasy confusion. "Wh-why're you giving this to me?"

It was Fox's 9mm revolver.

"Because I trust you not to do anything stupid with it," G responded, grinning slightly.

Flash narrowed his eyes. "And not me?"

"No offence, Flash."

Hesitantly taking the gun, Toxic accepted the responsibility of holding it, though didn't feel happy doing so…

The group quickly passed a windowed room; it was shut off from the rest of the world, and the blinds were down… it was inaccessible. No one could find reason to check there from this observation, and none could look inside if they tried…

Fox wasn't getting out any time soon, and no one would help him. He'd tried yelling hours ago; no one came. And he certainly couldn't hear anything outside the room… soundproof walls…

Due to being an observation room, it warranted that, unluckily for Fox. But from his stance he could do no observing, nor be observed; it was only his captor that could keep such a watchful eye on him in the room from the camera… and he knew they were perfectly content with keeping it that way.

"Great…" he hissed under his breath, leaned against the wall in a fit of unrest.

 _"…hey. Heyyyyyy. It's gonna' start soon… are you ready?"_

Fox stiffened and looked up at the camera in horror; anger soon overtook his features, however.

"Of course not, you little—!"

There was a long, shrill microphone sound which almost deafened him.

* * *

As the group descended a set of stairs, their investigation was interrupted by a calm, soothing voice. All stopped at the bottom of the stairway, their gazes searching every inch of the corridor…

 _"Inhabitants of this lovely vault…"_

"…that fucking scrub is kidding," G growled, his eyes wide.

 _"It's a pleasure to have you here!"_

"Nuuuu! It's the demon child!" Toxic freaked, then turned around, trying to ascend the stairs.

 _"I'm so sorry for not welcoming you earlier…"_

She couldn't, though… the door slammed down in front of her before she could do so.

"Eeeek! NOOOOO! P-please, no, please no!"

"… _y'see, it's really important that you knew what you were getting yourselves into…"_

"Who?" Flash looked at them in confusion.

"Monaca," G answered, glaring up at the nearest security camera. "She—"

 _"…follows in the steps of Big Sis Junko? Heehee. Oooh, I do WONDER… How'd you guess right? Then again, Monaca_ _ **was**_ _hoping people would know not just Big Sis Junko, but her too!"_

"What's she doing h-here?" Toxic whispered, her voice a tiny squeak.

"I don't know; I didn't see her… just…" G growled. "Doesn't matter…"

 _"Oh, Monaca's been here a while. Way before all you people came back…"_ The voice hummed, pondering something. " _Yeah, ummm… I was waiting for you to come back… G."_

"…h-huh…?" Toxic glanced at him with a confused expression.

"G, what the heck is she—?" Flash started, then his expression moved to G.

G looked… annoyed, shocked, all at the same time.

 _"Heehee, did you REALLY think I was going to be silent about it? Geez, you hafta think harder than that!"_ the voice cheerfully chirped.

"G…what's she talking about?" Toxic asked firmly, narrowing her eyes at G. Her eyes were hurt and betrayed.

 _"What, did you think he WASN'T affiliated with despair, having some robot like THAT?"_

"P-please… tell me she's lying… tell me it's a trick…" Toxic pleaded through a sob.

Flash's fists tensed, and he glared at G.

"G…"

"…" G was silent; his teeth were gritted, and he was looking away. "…I'm sorry…. I… I h-had to…"

"You had to what?!" Toxic spat, tears in her eyes. "H-hand us over to despair?! To… to… mutual killing?!"

 _"Awww, looky… she actually thought about this!"_

"Shut it, Monaca," G growled, his expression shadowed. He turned around slowly, looking at her. His tone was stable again. "Toxic… you have to understand…"

"Understand?! Understand what?!" she yelled in response, her fist tensing.

"I'm not doing a whole lot of understanding either…" Flash muttered, eyeing him suspiciously.

"…I didn't intend to…" G started, then sighed, looking at the floor.

"If you didn't intend to bring us here, why did you?" Flash asked, folding his arms and looking at him in confusion.

"I…"

Toxic started, heartbroken and crying, "To think I worried…!"

 _"…worried he was going to die?"_ Monaca asked chirpily. _"Oh, don't worry, **Toxikku…** there's plenty of time left for that!"_

"W-what?" G looked up slowly.

"…" Toxic looked to the side with a bitter expression.

 _"When she came to visit you last night? What kept her up?"_ Monaca giggled. _"It wasn't Darky… It was_ _ **you.**_ _"_

"T-Toxic, what is—?"

 _"You should've heard her. She was calling out to you in her sleep, and she'd woken up, sobbing, begging… then she realized it was a dream. THAT'S why she came to you last night… She realized she could still stop it, that she could check on you… but, oh well. It doesn't matter now, right? If anything, it just makes the betrayal a whole lot worse! Heehee!"_

G looked at Toxic for some explanation, but she didn't seem intent on giving one. Not now…

She clenched something in her hand; it was the revolver that G had given her…

G eyed her carefully. "Toxic…?"

Her hands were trembling; she was a nervous wreck; she was angry, upset…

 _"…huh. You have a gun… why don't you go ahead and use it, **Toxikku?** He's made you so angry… right? You just want to… **kill** him, right?"_

…she glared at the ceiling.

"Y-you… shut up, meanie! Y-you don't know anything, y-you…" She gave G a betrayed expression, then turned heel and ran down the corridor, clutching the weapon and sobbing.

"…" G frowned after her. "…Toxic…"

 _She was looking for them too…?_

 _"Geh, such a coward… so scared and all alone…"_

"I said shut it, Monaca…" G glowered.

 _"You sure are cocky… don't forget our deal, G-kun~"_

"Deal…?" Flash looked at G angrily.

 _"Oh, yeah! Your poor friend… she better not run into the OTHER guys… especially with a gun… that'd be despair-inducingly horrible, wouldn't it?"_

"…?!" Flash looked up in shock. "Other guys?!"

 _"You'll get around to it… in the mean time…"_

 **"Upupupupu…"**

G turned around, then his eyes focused and widened on a chubby black and white bear, over three feet tall…

 _"…you don't mind… at all… G… if I use your little helper…?"_

Flash took a step back.

"You have got to be kidding me…" he grumbled, glaring.

 _"Heehee. This is so exciting… You remember the rules, right? No hurting your headmaster! Any ouchies and you'll be horrifically executed! That includes you, G-kun~! No mercy, not from Monaca or the Monokuma!"_

G took a step back, cautious.

The unit's red eye glowed.

"Y-yeah… and what about you…? You have rules, right?" Flash asked nervously.

 _"…huhhhh? Monaca? Rules?"_ She giggled. _"I don't think you get it… Monaca ALWAYS gets what she wants. If Monaca wants, you two could crash and burn and crash and burn and crash and BURN BURN BURN! You wouldn't be able to do anything! So… d'ya' think Monaca needs rules… baka?"_

Flash's eyes lit up in realization. "…wait… so…"

 _"This is MY game. And I propose a temporary challenge… TAG!"_

The unit lifted a paw, and brandished a set of claws as it leered menacingly at the pair.

 **"You better run, ya' bastards!"**


	9. Chapter 9

G grabbed Flash's hand instantly as he sprinted down the corridor, almost dragging the boy as he had only a second to realise. This very moment would have been when the bear would have swiped at Flash's very position.

"...?!"

"You do NOT want to be hit by that!" G told him firmly, continuing down the corridor, past numerous doors.

Flash glared at him. "You're with...!"

G shook his head as they ran. "Priorities, Flash!"

"Hmph... But... I don't get it... Why is she attacking you if you're with her?!" Flash looked at him in defensive confusion.

"She got what she wanted. And she hardly cares, right now!" G spat, his tone bitter, though at the same time, it revealed a pitch of anxiety. "Just as I predicted..."

"You knew this would end badly for you?!" Flash looked at him in shock.

"I'll tell you later, Flash! Right now, talking is only going to tire us out!" G looked annoyed; he glanced around at the doors, gritting his teeth. "We need to hide..."

"Do-don't you have any weapons?" The trainer asked, then blinked in realisation. "I could...!"

"Don't even think about it. That's a suicide mission for your Pokemon..." G trailed off. "Didn't you hear her? Hurt that Monokuma one bit and you're dead, including Pokemon. No mercy... Come on, this way..."

He glanced back, then turned into a room. They entered a room with many lockers; a desk, chair, and terminal; a set of bars, with a bed behind them, and an area for handcuffs...

"...? This is..."

"Security."

Flash watched as G pressed a couple of buttons on a control panel beside the door. He glanced to the corner to see a camera, then scowled.

"Flash, do us a favour..."

"Got it." Flash nodded in determination, smiling slightly. He pulled out one of his Pokeballs, looking at it fondly before throwing it. There was a mass ray of red light, and until a figure formed, tall, bulky, and pig-shaped. Its bushy black eyebrows narrowed slightly at its surroundings, then it looked at Flash. "Zeke, mind ridding us of eavesdroppers?"

Zeke turned to look at where the boy now pointed, his gaze moving to the security camera.

"Arm thrust!"

The Emboar let out a roar, snarling as it shot forward, grinning as it sent a fist flying forward towards the camera. It collided with the device, pummeling a disorientated crack into it. The other fist that followed it did it in, but the Emboar continued a third time. The device fell to pieces, beyond useless... there was also a noticeable crack in the corner where the camera had sat.

G blinked and looked over.

"... That'll do, Flash. That'll do."

"Had to make sure it would..." Flash chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck with a grin. "G'job, Zeke!"

"Embbooarrr!" Zeke grinned, his eyes glinting arrogantly.

"Return him, Flash... I need space." G walked over to the terminal quickly, sat down, and started typing something in. His typing speed was swift; he seemed to have done this before...

"What're you doing?" Flash looked over his shoulder. He was hacking something...

"Stopping Monaca from messing with our only exit."

"Oh..." Flash nodded, then turned to return his Pokemon friend.

There was a click, the sound of a door locking, and G finished.

"...that was quick." Flash looked annoyed. "He could've come out for a bit. I didn't even need to return Zeke-"

"Fire-types make rooms too hot," G deadpanned, turning in the chair and leaning on the back. "I'd rather we'd not dehydrate in the time we have..."

"Makes sense, I guess..." Flash blinked, then narrowed his eyes. "Now tell me what the Hell's going on."

* * *

 ** _Pant, pant, pant..._**

That's how her breaths went as she ran down the corridor, eyes brimmed with liquid of sadness and her grip secure and tight over the weapon. She almost tripped, but regained her balance just before the next set of stairs.

"S-stupid G! Wh-why'd he have to do that...?! Why'd he have to be... that?!" she cursed through tears, descending the stairs. She reached the bottom, and the door slammed behind her. "...! No!"

She turned her head, expression full of dread and regret. There was visible tension in her muscles as they stiffened, and then loosened.

She stared at the floor blankly.

"I-I'm... all alone..."

Her gaze drifted to the gun; she stared at it absently, then narrowed her eyes.

"N-no. I wouldn't ever contemplate that." She shook her head firmly, then wiped her tears with her sleeve. She frowned in remorse, cringing as she looked back at the door. "...geez, I had to run off like some sissy..." she muttered in self-hatred. "I left Flash alone too..." She looked away. "I hope he's okay..."

 _I'm not even sure about G yet..._

"..." She looked around. "I must be on the Reactor Level now... Can't mess around down here..."

She scowled, then walked down the corridor.

 _I don't know what my goal is... I guess... it's to get out... And save Flash and Fox..._

 _..._

 _Who am I kidding...?_

 _I can't just ignore G like that..._

 _He may have done that... but... He's still my friend... right?_

 _And he was trying to tell me why he did it..._

 _And I didn't listen to him..._

 _..._

 _Geez..._

 _I'm an idiot..._

 _But..._

 _..._

 _Despair won't win. It won't. I have optimism. I've just got to believe in it more!_

 _I'm alive. I have a weapon to protect myself. I have friends, if I can rescue them. I'm not injured. I know vaults. I can still do something! I may be useless, but I'm not completely useless!_

She smiled in determination.

"HEY, MONACA? SEE THIS SMILE?! It's gonna' beat you!" she yelled chirpily, pointing at a camera. "TOXIKKU CHOOSES TO ACT! GIMME' YOUR BEST SHOT!"

 **"IF YOU SAY SO! Upupupupu!"**

"...WHAT THE FUD-?!"

Toxic's head shot back down to the ground, looking across the corridor. A lone figure was at the end of it, red eye gleaming at her maliciously.

"G-G's... Monokuma? W-wh...?!"

"UpupupupuPUPUPUPUPUPU **PUPUPUPU!"**

The signature laughter continued getting louder and louder as the bear charged forward towards her, its sharp claws brandished and ready to slice and dice.

"...hngh...!"

Toxic dodged to the side quickly, landing into a crouch as the Monokuma swiped at the door behind her.

 _I-is... G... really... that...?_

A noticeable, deep, ragged claw mark was embedded into the metal.

 _How... th-this... ca-can't be real..._

Toxic didn't so much as glance before scrambling to her feet. Panicking, adrenaline kicked in as she bolted down the corridor, not daring to look back. Her intakes of breath grew slightly shallow from the running, but she ignored it. She had to...

She was already tired from running away from confrontation like an idiot... now she had THIS to deal with!

But she didn't want to give up now...

 _I... I have... to save everybody..._

 _No matter what!_

 _Th-this... this won't stop me!_

She ran as fast as she could, then freaked when she heard the reoccurring footsteps behind her. She shoved at a canister behind her, hoping it to fall and at least deter her persuer a little bit. The bear jumped over the rolling canister.

"Agh, damned youngsters...! RESPECT YOUR ELDERS, BAKA!"

She turned off, down a balcony, running past numerous generators... The rooms were dark, and it had obviously been a while since they'd been inhabited, tended to... She wasn't scared of the dark; she stayed up all the time. The only thing that annoyed her was it obscuring her vision... But if she could stay alive, her eyes would adjust... slowly... eventually...

She had to stay alive, no matter what.

After a couple of minutes of running, she heard silence. At that, she grew both relieved, and unnerved. It hadn't caught up... It should have... Was it just lying in wait for her...? Waiting for the right moment to strike...?

 _I don't like this..._

She looked around.

"...! A vent!"

She ran towards it, then pouted.

 _If I could open this, I could probably use it to get to the upper floors... it'd be cramped, sure, but..._

 _It's better than this._

 _There'll be tools around here... People tend to the Reactor Level all the time.  
_

She blinked, then spotted a tool box at the other side of the room. She grinned, then ran over to it, rooting for a screwdriver.

 _Finally, I has a screwdriver..._

She dashed over to the vent and started undoing the screws. She hadn't even finished when she heard foosteps that startled her... She whirled around and scanned the room quickly.

Her gaze lifted and turned when she noted something on the wall, directly in front of a camera at the opposite side.

 ** _LET US OUT LET US OUT LET US OUT LET US OUT LET US OUT_**

 ** _PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE_**

It was smeared in red...

"...?!" Toxic's hair stood on end as she glanced around, suddenly alert.

 _Even if he's not after me... something else might be in a minute! I need to hide!_

She dropped the screwdriver immediately.

She glanced around quickly, perspirating; she spotted an area, dark and hidden, below the balcony, hard to see from any point. She narrowed her eyes, then dashed for it quickly, crawling underneath it, curling into a small, helpless ball. She hugged her legs tightly as she watched the room, afraid but not willing to cower, only to observe...

She didn't know when... but her eyes closed... reality truly blended with blackness...

Soon enough, she awoke...

After a minute, she uncurled, watching carefully from under the balcony...

 **"...sigh. Stupid kid... really shoulda' just lemme' get you... you gotta' make it hard, huh? I was even gonna' be nice... I was gonna' help you... help you get revenge..."**

The childish voice sounded in the darkness, but Toxic couldn't tell where it was coming from. It echoed everywhere, and it chilled her to the bone.

 _I don't hold grudges._

 **"...I mean... he betrayed you, right?"  
**

 _He was going to explain himself...  
_

 **"And now I've got this unit from super duper nice G-kun..."  
**

 _You stole it...  
_

A white foot and a black foot stepped onto the balcony steps.

 **"...you're in for Hell, little girl!"  
**

Toxic tensed up, immediately wary of whether her position had been compromised or not... She was ready to run, but then she heard a footstep at the other side of the room.

 **"...heh, am I?"** another voice asked, their tone cocky. They sounded... feminine... and Toxic felt... this voice... meant something to her... "...nah. Don't think you know me..."

"Oh, but I do! Ivory... right?"

 _Ivory?!_ Toxic's eyes widened. _They're not talking about-_

"Yup. I praise him, though! He got himself out!" The other female responded proudly. "Backstabbing his own friend... they grow up so much! It's so beautiful..."

"... why don't you care?"

"Oh, I care. I just know when people are just outright trying to lead others astray." The girl stepped forward into the light. She wore a grey hoodie, which she had her hands sat in. She wore jeans, rolled up above her sneakers. She had brown hair and brown, relaxed eyes. These eyes were amused, cocky, and seemingly eager for more entertainment. "Kid, I don't care what IVORY did. I care about what YOU did."

"What I did?" the Monokuma robot giggled. "Upupupupu... really...? What **I** did?! Your friend deserted you..."

The girl looked at the robot with an expression feigning fake understanding, then pulled out a phone and looked down at it.

"...huh. Too bad. I can't pound you into a cube ornament and hang you around my neck. Would make up for the USB, honestly..." She smirked widely. "Too bad you didn't get that side of me..."

She paused for thought.

"So, I guess that means I get to mutiliate the mastermind up front! Right?" She took a step forward. "Think of ALL the ways I could do it... So many potential murder weapons around here! What death do ya' want, kid? I'll find a knife to peel off your skin, like a potato! I'll burn you with acid from the science lab... I could electricute you... I'll even cut out your tongue, as a bonus! I'll call Reisuke for reccomendations, if you want!"

"..." The robot was silent. "...heehee. Really, I shouldn't have been wasting my breath on you... you're already lost, aren't you? Just like me..."

The girl narrowed an eyebrow.

"...riiiiiight. Look, I'm, like, _way_ more sane than you."

"The insane have no right to judge~"

"Then why're you saying that?" the girl grinned widely. She opened her mouth to speak again, then glanced down at her phone.

 _12:36: - There don't seem to be any exits around. Sucks._

 _12:37: - The way I came in, the exit, is blocked by the chubbinator. Maybe the great thief could get around it?_

 _12:38: - I tried to get to the exit. The Monokuma swiped at me, twice._

 _12:40: - I bled out._

 ** _DEAD END_**

"..." She sighed. "You really DON'T make life easier for me, maniac... so I've gotta' make it harder for you!"

Suddenly, the girl ran with so much energy you'd think she'd done this for a living. She sprinted towards a vent, which seemed to have been almost opened earlier...

The girl yanked off the remaining screw, then lifted it, scrambling into the vent.

"See ya', fatso!"

"It's not fat; it's chubby!" the bear yelled, flailing his arms.

Toxic had to stop herself from chuckling...

"Whatever! But you're not getting through here!" The girl grinned. "You won't fit..."

"Unnnngh, you're so IRRITATING! Why won't you listen to me?! Why won't you DIE?! DIE, DIE, DIEEEE! GET HERE AND DIE!"

"...how about no?"

"...he's going to die. I've decided."

The bear suddenly turned away and plodded out of the room.

"...huh?"

She frowned slightly, then glanced at her phone.

"..."

She waited a couple of minutes, then crawled out of the vent. She looked around the room, then her gaze moved to the balcony.

"...Alright, you, come out. I know you were watching the whole time."

"...?!" Toxic stiffened.

"Don't make me drag you out..."

"N-no!" Toxic scrambled out from under the balcony quickly, revealing... an expression of happiness. "E-Eliza! Boy, am I glad to-"

'Eliza' smirked at her sadistically. "Hello... _Torture Toy."_


	10. Chapter 10

**(Haiiii, peeps, rare author's note from me! :3**

 **Events from my friend's forum, Fanfiception, are _heavily_ referenced here! That beh this forum:**

 **(FFdotNet) /forum/Fanfiception/137318/**

 **Check out le cool thing 030 Resolves around self-inserts in Sanic stuff...**

 **Anyway**

 **ONWARDS!)**

* * *

"…T-Torture toy…?" Toxic laughed nervously. "F-funny… I th-thought you only used that term for when you were torturing someone or something…"

"Nope," Eliza responded with a wide grin, taking a step forward. "I use it for YOU, Tox. And you ONLY."

Toxic backed up with a worried expression on her face.

"E-Eliza… y-you're not going to…"

"…huh? Oh, torture you for all those times you backstabbed your friends?" Eliza leered, her smile stretching. "Wouldn't dream of it, Torture Toy. … That was sarcasm, by the way."

"Backstab…? B-but… I never… wh-what're you talking about?" The girl looked at her in fearful confusion; she retracted her hand, which had been so eager to hug Eliza a few seconds ago…

"Don't play dumb," she responded slyly, taking a step forward and picking up the fallen screwdriver. Eliza examined it carefully, showing vague interest in it. " _He's_ so SIGNIFICANT to you, after all…"

"W-who are you talking about?" Toxic whimpered, feeling for the rail.

Eliza closed one eye, then messed with the screwdriver as if it were a dart, aiming for Toxic's eye. The other flinched in response, eyeing her with terror.

"E-Eliza, what're you going to do with that…?"

"Hmmm… wonder if I could ruin your eyesight…"

"I-I'm not kidding! P-please don't joke around!" Toxic squeaked, her hand tightening around the same 9mm revolver from earlier as she backed up.

Eliza eyed the weapon, the grinned.

"Or… shoot you with your own weapon. What happened to Shadow Rifles, Tox? Don't like Shadow anymore? I'm sure he doesn't like you, after everything you've done…" Eliza giggled. "Remember that messed up 'creative death' competition you had with Reisuke once? Shooting someone and leaving them to limp around near bear traps… Could improvise. Use the bear that's here…"

Toxic looked horrified. "N-no! No, I d-don't!"

"No, you don't like Shadow? Or no as in 'I'm going to lie my way out of this'?" Eliza asked cheerfully. "There's no Lucy here to save you, y'know… or your boyfriend. So! I've got _creative freedom_! Ain't that fun?"

"E-Eliza, I d-don't understand… p-please…" the older one pleaded, backing up the balcony. "I-I do-don't want to h-have to de-defend myself f-from you… yo-you're my friend!"

Eliza looked annoyed, twirling the screwdriver in her hand. She sighed irritably. "You always were a drama queen, weren't you?" she asked. "Can't just own up without the sappy dialogue…"

"D-drama queen…?" Toxic asked incredulously, looking offended. "I don't want to die! I-I have to save my friends!"

"You _actually_ want to save your friends?" Eliza asked sceptically. "Right. Good. Fantastic."

She smiled in a lazy fashion.

"Because I don't believe you, Torture Toy."

* * *

"Hngh... Stupid vent..."

A mobian, ridden with dust bunnies, was crawling through a long shaft. He was pushing himself upwards, left and right, trying to find a way out of the underground bunker.

"...? Light... Is that another room, or...?"

The creature shuffled to the left quickly, then poked his head forward, looking into the room. It was small... It seemed to be an observation room, and...

"...huh?"

There was a man sat on the floor, looking frustrated.

"I need to get out of here..." he growled, pulling himself to his feet. He shook his head, then stared at the sealed observation window. He eyed the bloody room with distaste, cringing in disgust. He walked towards the drawers, trying to look through them, but the first few were locked... "Ugh. I have to be the captive, don't I...?"

"...hey!" The mobian in the vent knocked on the lid. The man turned his head, blinking. "You can come through this way!"

* * *

"…Darky."

"Darky?"

Flash blinked at G as he stood, noting his expression of frustration. G walked to the other side of the room, his hands behind his back as he seemed thoughtful. He was trying to think of how to get it across to Flash…

Then, he thought of something.

"…Monaca blackmailed me with Darky."

That seemed simple enough a thought process, but apparently not so to Flash…

"…What?"

G sighed as he turned around.

"I wouldn't have dragged everyone here for the sake of despair, Flash," he stated, voice level and gaze sincere. "I wouldn't have if I didn't have to..."

"Then why?" Flash narrowed his eyes. "Isn't it better to save what you have, G? You have me, you have Toxic, you have Fox... Now two of those might be in danger! Or even die!"

"..." G turned away, glaring at the door. "...no. Not Toxic."

"How do you know that?!" Flash growled. "She's the LAST person to resort to violence! Even with that gun, it sounds as if she won't last two minutes!"

"I wish you wouldn't doubt me and her so much," G replied, moving the glare to his direction.

Flash frowned and looked down sadly. "I'm sorry, alright...? I just... I'm just worried. And after that whole thing with Monaca..."

"You don't need to explain yourself." G looked to the side. "But I do. A lot."

"Damn straight," Flash responded, looking confused. "What kinda logic is that?""

G folded his arms.

"I couldn't just ignore Darky, if that's what you were getting at. Would YOU leave a friend behind?"

"..." Flash was silent at this question. "...no..." he muttered reluctantly...

"...as of this point, you're all my responsibility. I took a risk. Maybe I shouldn't have."

"Maybe." Flash's eye twitched.

"If I outright disobeyed Monaca, who knows what she'd have done with Darky? But if I brought everyone together... I wouldn't be defying Monaca, and she'd be too busy with us and too good a mood to mess with Darky. Then...We could find her. We'd tough it out... We're so tight a knit, we wouldn't play Monaca's game. We'd focus on getting Darky and then getting out."

"And then everyone got split up. That didn't go so well..." Flash remarked dryly.

"Not because of the structure. This place was built for this sort of thing, but it didn't take lessons from Hope's Peak Academy." G looked thoughtful. "I thought our escape would be easier because of that..."

"If it was built for this sort of thing, how come you think that doesn't affect our survival rate?" Flash asked, looking perplexed.

G looked on grimly.

"...the project failed. Participants rebelled and killed all the researchers just a few decades into the opening of the vault after a leak of information, instead of killing their vault mates."

"Wow... That backfired..."

"That's what they got for prolonging it for so long." G looked at him arrogantly. "Besides... pulling an experiment like that is just asking for it. Anyway, there don't seem to be any corpses here... At least, not belonging to inhabitants... So they must've gone SOMEWHERE..."

"I see..." Flash nodded. "Guess that kinda makes sense... But who are you to make that decision?"

"G," he deadpanned at Flash. "Look... If anything bad happens, that's my fault. I'm accepting that. But nothing bad is going to happen, got it?"

* * *

"E-Eliza, please; l-listen! We don't have to do anything crazy... hehehee..." Toxic forced a friendly, weak smile, backing up. "W-we can work together to leave this place! Like friends do!"

"And miss out on the SWEET opportunity to inflict pain on _you?"_ Eliza grinned, twirling the screwdriver, following her every step. "I thought you knew me, Toxic. You clearly don't..."

"But I-"

"Maybe you're faking amnesia," the thief mused, rubbing her chin. She glanced down at her phone, scanning something, then she smirked widely.

"I'm not! I don't u-understand what you're talking about!" Toxic repeated, looking terrified. "P-please... j-just stop this... we-we can leave... together... N-nobody has to get hurt... W-we can... save everybody... you and me..."

Eliza seemed to be ignoring her.

"Either way, it doesn't matter. Gotta' atone for your sins, ya' know!" she sang merrily, then narrowed her eyes, expression malicious and evil. "I'm bored, and you're the newest, most helpless thing that moves! Don't worry; I'll drag it out! You'll live... okay? I'll make sure of it..."

She lunged forward.

"...then you can lay down in crumpled, tiny vulnerable heap and die!"

Toxic staggered back, moving to the left...

...then felt a sharp, searing pain across her back. She crashed into the wall beside her along with this, and fell to the ground.

"...hnnngh!" she cried out in shock, unable to gather herself to move. She barely felt the searing pain took the form of three painful lines... She opened one eye and saw the Monokuma unit staring down at her, its red eye gleaming. Her blood ran cold and she tensed up, inducing more panic, more agony... "...?!"

 _N-no... no! I c-can't die, I...  
_

The Monokuma unit leered.

"...don't worry, Toxikku... I'm gonna' leave you all alone... with your _friend..._ you'll be in good hands, right? She'll make you all better... Upupupupupu..."

 _...y-you...!_

The bear plodded away, out of her blurred vision. Did her head hurt too...? She didn't know...

"Awww, someone beat me to it!" Eliza whined. "I wanted dibs! This sucks... oh, well. At least I can fill in for them now!"

She smirked down at Toxic.

* * *

"Okay then..." Flash looked at him in uncertainty. "...but how are you so sure Toxic is going to be okay?"

* * *

"E-Eliza... E-Eliiiiiiiza..." Toxic whined in pain, trying to move herself as the other crouched down.

Toxic didn't understand... why was she doing this? Weren't they friends?! Why was Eliza doing this to her...?! Why wasn't she helping?! Why... why...

Eliza gave a mock expression of sympathy.

"Does it hurt, Torture Toy? That's okay; ya' don't know the beginning of it yet..."

Betrayal and the fear of Eliza hurt Toxic a lot more than pain ever could...

She lifted the gun slowly; her hands shook as she clutched it tightly, trying to aim it.

"...huh. You going to shoot me where the sun don't shine?" Eliza teased. "Go on..."

Toxic's stature remained still for a full thirty seconds, then her resolve crumbled into tiny pieces; she dropped the gun, and was reduced to more than jittery talking.

"P-PLEASE! P-please... d-don't do this!" Toxic begged weakly, tears in her eyes. "I n-need to save my f-friends, E-Eliza... T-they're l-looking for me...! I n-need to s-save them... a-and you... P-PLEASE, l-let me go!"

Eliza bit her tongue in concentration, thoughtful.

"Hmmm... nope! Sorry, no can do! Karma's a prick, Toxic."

"Pl-please... pl-please let me live..."

"Oh, you'll live... _for a little while_." Eliza beamed brightly. "After all, that's how _he'd_ do things, right? It's no fun just ending it here..."

"E-Eliza..."

 _...g-guys... I-I'm sorry... I-I'm so... so... sorry... I c-can't come back with you..._

 _I-I'm sorry I'm so... useless..._

 _So... pathetic..._

"So~ Let's start... shall we? No fake cries of agony! Give me an orchestra! ...not literally, obviously." Eliza giggled. "Here we GOOOOO!" She lifted the screwdriver high...

* * *

G looked at him seriously.

"I saw Toxic die. It wasn't here."

* * *

...then was sent flying up the corridor, face smushed into the floor.

"...h-huh...?" Toxic sniffled in shock, looking around.

"That wa-wasn't supposed to happen..." Eliza growled. She looked over her shoulder.

"...you fucking try to hurt ANY of my friends..." a voice snarled from the darkness. A familiar female stepped forward, glaring at Eliza maliciously, whip in hand.

 _...Darky?!_

"...and you're DEAD."


End file.
